For Your Eyes Only
by ProsperosDream
Summary: (Post Civil War-AU Infinity War Timeline). Bucky has been healed, HYDRA removed from his brain. Staying at the Avenger's facility he is discovering that getting back out into the world, learning to be is own man again, is difficult. A chance assignment introduces him to someone that shows him there is life and love, if he will only open himself up to it.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey Everyone! So, my easily distracted brain has had this brewing in the background for a bit. Decided to try and put it down to paper (er, digital paper), thought it might help get it out of my head. We'll see where it goes. Obviously I own nothing except my OCs. Let me know your thoughts, I love reviews, and as always, appreciate your reading!**

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Danielle hated lawyers. She thought most everyone did, but these, these had been a particular pain. When she had picked up the phone two months ago to find a college friend on the other end raving about this property that she just knew Danielle would be into, she hadn't imagined it would land her here... She was sitting on one side of a large, oval shaped, glass conference table in a room that was more akin to a fishbowl with the number of windows that lined its walls, in the new Avenger's facility in upstate New York. The friend, Gina, had moved up here a couple of years ago and was running a very successful real estate company. That's how she'd gotten the heads up about the property... and, since Gina knew Danielle had been looking for a place, and a particular kind of one, at that, she'd thought of her first. Not that Danielle wasn't grateful. The property was stunning; several hundred acres of fields, paddocks, old barns and buildings, and a hundred plus year old farm house. Danielle was an event planner, had been since school, but after years of corporate trade shows, lavish executive retreats, and board meetings she had dreamed of something simpler... Somewhere she could live and work, something with some charm and history, a place where people could come to have their weddings and reunions, to make memories. It sounded blissful... back to the slower pace of life she'd grown up with and a chance to do what she loved, in the way she loved to do it. She'd jumped at the chance... flown straight up to see the place and absolutely fell in love. There was one problem with the place, one Gina had conveniently left out until she knew Danielle was well and truly hooked...

The property backed up against land owned by the government and used to house the very facility she sat in now. The previous owners of the place had an arrangement that had sold a section of land that would allow the Avenger's to expand into what amounted to 100 acres of the farm. They'd been planning the expansion when the previous owner's wife had passed away and he'd decided to sell and move closer to his kids... now, the burden of this project fell on Danielle. And it *was* going to be a burden. The facility was expanding and adding several buildings in the compound meaning they needed to use that 100 acres to push out their perimeter, including all the fences and security posts and technologies that came with it. Danielle understood, and she thought, it was a small price to pay to have her dream home... her dream life, she hoped... but right now, Misters Edward Locke and John Masser had been attempting to talk her around in circles, seemingly hopeful they could get her to sign off on an additional allocation of land, as if they might be able to throw enough legal jargon in to confuse her. She wasn't confused and she wasn't impressed. Neither were her compatriots... Gina, sitting on her right and her own legal counsel, Donovan O'Shea on the left.

The fact was, she wasn't put out by losing the hundred acres that had already been agreed on, it still left her with another three hundred. She was even fine with all the work that was going to be done, even with the fact that they were going to have to do some logging on the property that would remain hers for the purposes of construction... that they were going to have to set up on her side of the line, use the road in through her property for a lot of the work. It was going to be disruptive, frustrating, and definitely slow down her own plans for the place, but that was all fine. She could roll with that. It wasn't really up to her anyhow... what she couldn't abide was having someone try to swindle her, or condescend to her. Especially when she hadn't had her ass in the chair for more than ten minutes. The attitude from the State Department's legal team was working on her nerves, particularly the younger of the two, Edward Locke. He was greasy... both in look and demeanor. About her age, she'd guessed, and wearing a suit that looked expensive simply to prove that it was. He had started right off on a bad foot, immediately made a patronizing comment about Danielle's accent, calling her a sweet southern belle in a tone that was so dripping with sarcasm it was palpable. It hadn't gone over well and his partner, the older, John Masser had been quick to try and recover. Things had only gone downhill from there. Now, her man O'Shea and Locke were arguing over compensation... because, yes, there was money involved too. She was going to be generously (snort) compensated for the logging, and construction, and use of her property, but as it turned out, their idea of generous and O'Shea's were very different. At this point, she was tempted to say the hell with it and take whatever they offered, if only it meant she could get out of this room and on with her life. To that she gave Gina a stern look that said they were definitely going to have a conversation about this later. The woman looked back at her, knowing, and raised her eyebrows, tipping her head to O'Shea as it seemed they were finally coming to some sort of conclusion. Danielle had done her time in board rooms and meetings where the attendees argued in endless circles, it wasn't how she intended to spend her time here... but all the same, she had to let O'Shea work, she wasn't going to give away everything she'd just gotten either. She'd worked hard to be able to make a move like this, and while this was a pretty large and unexpected blow, it wouldn't deter her. She had been stuck in a rut, spending her days working for soulless corporations, setting up the same events with different people; nothing new, nothing imaginative, nothing personal... So she was going to make this work, whatever it took.

"Miss Reid..." O'Shea was sliding a document over to her and indicating the payment amount and new stipulations that they'd settled on. Danielle read through the details, nodded her agreement, trying not to look as tired as she felt and they began the process of going over everything, Danielle signing off there and across the other paperwork as needed. Ten minutes later, thankfully, and they were standing, contracts signed and sealed, Masser and O'Shea shaking hands as Locke sidled up to her and Gina.

"Well, looks like you made out pretty well Miss Reid..." He grinned and there was nothing pleasant about it. "Oh, that reminds me..." He reached over, hitting Masser with the back of his hand, as if he'd just remembered something. "We are going to have someone on-site every day, not part of the construction crew but a project manager, of sorts... one of the ah..." He glanced at his partner again, a curious look in his eyes. "One of the team members from the facility here... Secretary Ross has just approved this so, I didn't want to forget to tell you." He gave something like a laugh but it was mirthless, the smile on his lips looking less friendly and decidedly more odious.

Danielle gave a little shrug, nodding her head, and ignoring the slimy feeling that Locke gave her. She'd assumed there'd be someone in charge over the operations entirety... it certainly wasn't going to be her. So why make a show of telling them that Secretary of State Ross had approved it? "Wonderful, I'm glad to know there will be someone capable handling this... I suppose I should have their contact information... is this person going to be my liaison as well?" She responded in as professional a manner as possible, finding herself wanting to deliver the exact opposite of whatever rise Locke tried to insight with his words and looks.

Masser shot his younger colleague a pointed look and nodded swiftly. "Ah yes, about that. My assistant will get all of that information over to you and Mister O'Shea. This is really just someone to make sure schedules are maintained and the contract stipulations are held to... I'm sure you'll find that Sergeant Barnes is capable and easy to work with..."

O'Shea had been whispering something to Gina but stopped, canting his head to the side. "Very funny... " He quipped, eyeing the other two men.

"Oh, it isn't a joke." Locke flipped through a file folder and pulled out a piece of paper, passing it over to O'Shea. "Barnes is the project manager... obviously there will be experts overseeing the construction and security installations but... Captain Rogers... Ah, that's Captain America Miss Reid..." He leaned over to her, and she was half surprised he didn't elbow her, his tone indicating this was something to brag about, that he had spoken to Captain America. Bully for him. "He told me personally that they put his buddy Barnes up for this to help him you know... integrate... get back out there. I guess the guy needs something to do..." He was chuckling as if he'd just told a joke. "Guess a guy who's spent the last fifty years murdering people doesn't have a lot of hobbies..."

"That's enough Edward." Masser said it quietly but with enough authority that the other man listened. Everyone seemed to stop for a moment, each of them looking away, letting out a collective breath before Masser spoke again. "Miss Reid, I wouldn't be concerned. I doubt you'll even come into contact with Sergeant Barnes and, he has been fully cleared, medically, and otherwise... pardoned, as you may know from the news... I'll be happy to have someone give you a call, about it, if you like."

Danielle nodded. Today had been a lot and even though this was something of a shock, she felt like Locke wanted it to get to her, to worry her. He was looking for a reaction. He'd gotten it out of O'Shea so...She wasn't interested in giving the irritating man that satisfaction and she also was just a little too tired to think about the implications of this too much. "Thank you Mister Masser... I'm sure that anyone the Secretary of State approves to work on this project is qualified for it..." She responded, the words sounded a little robotic, a little too polite but, she reached a hand out to the man, curling her lips up in a pleasant, if not altogether genuine smile, shaking his hand. "Thank you, again. I think I had better get going." She made a point of glancing down at her watch and then eyeing Gina and Mister O'Shea.

"Very well, it was a pleasure Miss Reid..." Masser called after them, hands in his pockets. When they were almost out of ear shot she heard him say something to the younger man. She couldn't make out the words but the tone told her that he was reading Locke the riot act. Maybe it was wrong of her, but that definitely allowed her to walk out of the building with a smile on her face.

After they'd said their goodbyes to Mister O'Shea and he'd assured her he'd be looking into this newest revelation, Gina and Danielle had headed back to her place. They moved around the living room, surrounded by boxes, half unpacked, labelled on the sides with room names and instructions. "How you were so organized with this, I'll never know... I mean, I remember you were organized at school but..." Gina was knee deep in a box of books, moving them to the built in shelves against one wall of the room.

"I can't believe that someone who lived with me for three years in college thinks I was organized... I think you may be misremembering our time together... too much Everclear..."

Gina paused, one hand on her hip, the other holding a stack of books. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a thin, long sleeved shirt, tapping a barefoot against the hardwood floor - both women had changed upon returning to the house; Danielle was dressed similarly, shorts and an old university t-shirt. The kind of work they were doing called for comfort. Gina pointed at Danielle's shirt, "Are you suggesting I drank away my brain cells? Because I'll tell you what I do remember... ma'am, and that's you drinking me under the table... frequently." She sounded serious but there was a hint of laughter underneath her words.

Danielle held her gaze a moment and then laughed. "Fine... whatever... I think this is about enough for today. I appreciate you helping... and again, finding this place... Even if it did mean I had to spend my morning in that conference room." She paused, glancing around the living room. "It's perfect G... it really is." She broke down one of the empty cardboard boxes next to her and added it to the pile of others. They were making good progress, but it was getting late and she knew Gina had things to do. Gina had already helped quite a lot, and Danielle was thankful. They had been close in college, living together their last three years. After that, they'd both moved for jobs post graduation and had seen each other only occasionally. Nearly ten years later, it was like no time had passed and Danielle was more than a little relieved to have her around. Taking on this property and the challenge of turning it into the space she imagined was not going to be easy... having a friendly face was going to be a lifesaver, she knew that already.

"Why don't I come back this weekend, we can get the rest of this stuff up... that way you can start settling in before the work starts in a couple of weeks... Between what you get done during the week and two weekends worth of work... we can knock it out." Gina was slipping her feet into her shoes and putting her phone and things into her bag.

"Thank you... You don't' have to but... that would be great. I'll have wine and food..." Danielle smiled, following her to the front door.

"I'll bring my charming personality then, and it's a date." They both laughed, squeezing each other into a quick hug and then Gina headed out the screen door. She paused though, standing on the porch, looking back at Danielle. "About the other thing... O'Shea is right, we can probably get them to do something about that I mean... you are out here by yourself they can't expect you to be comfortable with a man like that hanging around... even if there will be other people..."

"Gina... it's fine." Danielle stood in the doorway, holding the screen door open with her foot, she had been avoiding thinking about this too much, and she didn't really want to now. "I don't expect I'll have to see much of anyone working on this, save the trucks coming through... and, I mean, the Secretary of State signed off on it so... obviously the decision wasn't taken lightly... I know that Secretary Ross has a lot to do with...with the Avengers" It was difficult to say that out loud, strange to think she was suddenly so proximal to something so... well, she didn't quite know the word, beyond her, really, was what it was. "Anyway... If they're good with it, I am. There'll be tons of other people here when he is... and if there's anything weird I promise I'll talk to O'Shea or someone... I just don't... or, at least right now, I can't care. I'm just ready for them to get started and get finished so I can ... " She held her hand out, indicating the property around her and let the sentence hang there.

"Alright, I'm just sayin', be careful. Anyway... I'll see you this weekend." Danielle waved as Gina backed her car out and turned it back down the drive, mind swimming with all of the various happenings of the day. She sometimes had a tendency towards letting stress and anxiety take over her more rational self, something that was threatening to happen now. She decided she couldn't cope with that just now and went upstairs to run herself a bath, focused on relaxing and letting any thoughts of construction, project managers, lawyers, or any of the rest of it, melt away with the hot water.

Later, Danielle leaned against the back of the porch swing, the wood creaking beneath her as it swayed back and forth, almost imperceptibly, her legs stretched out across it. Summer would be shortly coming to a close, already a faint chill was beginning to creep its way into the early morning air... And yet, she had a glass of sweet, iced tea clutched in one hand, fresh slices of lemon floating in the amber liquid, a habit from home she never seemed to be able to shake. She was a southern girl, certainly, and she definitely stood out here, in New York... but she didn't mind. People were nice here, in fact, Danielle was pretty sure that people were nice everywhere, if you were nice to them, at least mostly - lawyers not withstanding. She'd been as welcome when she'd moved and taken up residence in the old farmhouse at her back as she'd ever been anywhere else. More so perhaps... the local community seemed to have a great love for the property and were glad to see someone rescuing it from falling into disrepair. The previous owners had let a lot go by the wayside before deciding to sell, and though the renovation she'd lined up prior to her arrival here had been intense, it wasn't all complete, not by half. Like the community, Danielle had a love for old and broken things too. She'd always been fascinated by history, by the way people lived in times past; the relics, like this old farmhouse, that they left behind. Perhaps it was that southern girl in her, she couldn't resist the slow, steady pace of a place like this... The days would be filled with hard work, they already had been, and she'd barely made a dent in the restoration of the property but, here, everything seemed peaceful, seemed to have order... it seemed right. It was strange to think that on the other side of the woods behind the house, her property (that was strange too, to think of all this as hers) butted up to another large swathe of land, this one housing one of the most high tech facilities on the planet. The one caveat to this little slice of perfection... it seemed that slow pace was going to allude her a while longer. Beginning the week after next, and ongoing for, well, she didn't really know how long, several months, at least; a large section of her property was going to be the site of a major construction undertaking... Logging and clearing in the woods that bordered the property line between the farm and the Avenger's compound, building up fencing and constructing security towers, laying lines for power and fiber and whatever else she couldn't imagine... And of course, with all the equipment and man power required for the job, even more of her space would be taken up... And then, there was the news today about Sergeant Barnes... She supposed that's what he was being called, it's what the legal team had called him. She knew the man's name and even his face fairly well. He'd been all over the news for months. The story had bee told and retold, everywhere from TMZ to 60 Minutes. The resolution had been that the man was pardoned, by the United States government, for his crimes as the... what was it? The Winter Soldier and allowed back into the country under the care of the Avengers. If Locke and Masser were telling the truth, he was shortly going to be overseeing the work here... an attempt to get him back out into the world, or so Locke had said. She supposed it made sense. There'd be plenty of people about to keep an eye on him, no doubt the State Department or the Avenger's team would have something in place to monitor the man... When she got down to it, she really didn't know how to feel about it. It was difficult to be too afraid. She'd never met him, or even seen him in person so the idea of him was just that... an idea... and even before this had come up, she'd been firmly in the camp that he couldn't be held responsible for what he'd done while under HYDRA's control. Everyone had an opinion on that, as much as it has been in the media, and she definitely was glad the decision had been made to bring the man home... he was a POW, he deserved help, not hatred... But still, that was all very different from having him, living and breathing, hanging around her home. Maybe Gina was right... maybe she should at least ask some questions... it didn't hurt to be cautious. She decided she would, tomorrow. Take up Masser on his offer and see who she could speak with that knew a little more about this, just to set her mind at ease.

The baying of a dog in the distance roused her from her thoughts and she stood up from the swing, bare feet hitting the worn porch decking with a thud. Setting aside her drink she stepped over to the porch railing, cupping her hands around her mouth as she called out. "TY! COME ON!" Danielle stepped back, arms folding over her chest as she listened. The baying had quieted and after a few minutes she could hear the crunching of brush and leaves as her adventurous, goofy, and completely lovable black lab rounded the corner of the house, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted from his run. "Where have you been?" She questioned, glancing down as he plodded up the steps of the front porch, tags jangling, to lean against her legs. She'd had him since her last year of college, and had named him Tiberius, after her favorite Star Trek captain, Kirk. Usually she just called him Ty, and he'd been her constant companion since. After a moment of ear scratching Ty stretched and flopped down on the rug in front of the door, Danielle heading back to the porch swing, taking a long drink from her glass of tea. Yeah, this place was going to be alright, she could feel it, in her gut - even with the aggravation of this looming project, even with all the questions that today had brought... It was going to take some work, but it was going to be great... she was as sure of that as she had been of anything, in a very long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I've got a couple of these chapters ready so I'll be pumping them out pretty quick initially. I also have something of a layout for most of the story so that should help. If you have thoughts, comments, critiques, etc. please feel free to send them my way.**

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Bucky was walking with purpose, striding down the corridor of a building in the Avenger's compound, in one of the towers where he and the rest of the crew had apartments. He was frustrated, his hands clenched by his sides, a piece of paper balled up in one fist.

"Hey Buck!" Steve was taking long-legged steps toward him. Good, it was Steve who he'd been going to see anyhow.

"What is this?" He held up the crumpled paper, Steve's eyes widening a little as he tried to make out what was on it, carefully unfolding it as he took it from his friend.

"I don't know... Buck, you've... kinda crushed it." He shrugged a little. "You ok?"

"Ross has signed off on some project... for me to oversee this construction thing... at the fence?" He was sort of stumbling through the words. He wasn't angry per say, but caught off guard and confused. He'd just been given this like it was already done and he couldn't imagine why anyone would put him up for a job like this.

"Hang on, just a second... Look, I wanted to talk to you about this, I didn't know they were going to come straight to you... " Steve had a sheepish look on his face. "I didn't mean to go behind your back Buck but, Tony mentioned they were going to start the expansion and push out onto this property next door..." Steve handed the piece of paper back over, side stepping Bucky so that he could lean against the wall in the hallway. "I just asked some questions... I was going to sit down and talk to you before anything happened but... Looks like they moved forward without me..." Bucky got the idea that Steve wasn't too happy about that, but he also thought it served him right, just a little. "I knew they wanted someone to kind of oversee the whole thing and..."

"Steve... I don't know anything about this kind of work... I... " Bucky held up his hand, shrugging. This was way out of his wheelhouse.

"I know, I know but... you wouldn't have to. The property here is next to this old farm and, the expansion is going on to some of that land... the place was just purchased and I think they want a friendly face... representing ah... us... the Avenger's side of this, to make a good showing... otherwise it's the construction crews and Ross' guys and, that can't be pleasant... the latter, I mean." He sighed, shoulders slumping some "Look Buck, I know, I should have asked you first, but I wasn't sure they'd go along with it... I don't think there's much to it really... just show up, make sure the crews are on schedule, find out why not if they aren't, make sure they don't do any more damage to this property than was agreed upon... I thought it might be an easy way to get you back out there... give you something to do. I know you get tired of pacing around here... " That was a little blunt, but Bucky supposed Steve was right. He did get tired of it. There were only so many times you could walk a place, or jog around a building, only so many things you could write down, only so many books you could read each day.

"I guess... Who owns the property? I think we need to make sure they are ok with this... I mean" He held his hands at his sides, palms up, eyes finding Steve's and saying more than his words did. "I don't know that I'm going to be a welcome sight everywhere..."

Steve nodded. "I know... look. We'll figure it out. They don't even start for another week... we'll make sure the owner is aware, and the crews. We'll get you everything you need... I promise you'll have full control over this... You wanna stop? We'll stop... you enjoy it and want to keep going... great. I just, maybe it could be good... you might pick up a new skill." Steve cracked a smile at him and Bucky rolled his eyes a little, a hand coming up to comb his long hair back.

"What, like, talking to people? I have that skill, I'm just not good at it anymore..." He said dryly. Steve laughed a little and shook his head, clapping Bucky on the shoulder and giving him a gentle push down the hall.

"Come on, let's go see if we can work this out... if you hate it, you can remind me I was wrong afterwards..."

Bucky snorted, walking alongside him. "Oh, I will..."

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Steve sat in the SUV, the car idling as he stared forward at the newly painted farmhouse. It looked good. Of course, Steve hadn't seen it before, but he imagined this was an improvement. It had taken a good deal more convincing to get Bucky to agree to take this on, but, in the end he'd caved. Steve was glad for that, he was running out of ideas, of ways to get his friend out and moving in the world. He hoped this would be the push he needed. The one thing that had stumped them both had been Ross. The man hadn't liked Bucky from the start; he'd been firmly against bringing him back to the States and it had only really been the public outcry of sympathy for Bucky that had pushed Ross to seek the pardon. He needed public support and there were way more people clamoring about the need to bring forgotten vet, and WWII POW James Barnes home than there were to keep him out. There had been, and still was, Steve imagined, a small camp of people who thought Bucky was too dangerous, even with the HYDRA brainwashing gone from his mind, but they were firmly in the minority. The rest of the country had taken a stand - they'd abandoned him once, and people weren't going to see it happen again. The thought still filled Steve with a sense of warmth. He'd always tried to believe in the good in people, this was an occasion when he'd been proven right. And now, Bucky was here... he'd been at the Avenger's facility for months now... and while he didn't have HYDRA's trigger words or conditioning in his head anymore, and while his doctor's had said he was on the road to recovery, he wasn't really living... He was just skulking around the compound, staying out of everyone's way and keeping to himself. That had been fine for a while, but now even the therapists were starting to be concerned that maybe he was hindering his own progress, by not being willing to get out there... So, Steve had determined to give him a little push. Which brought him back to the here and now, and the farmhouse in front of him.

Taking a breath Steve turned off the car and climbed out, picking up a file folder from the passenger seat and taking it with him. Inside a dog was barking, and he saw a woman's silhouette in the screen door before it opened. Someone had called ahead to see if she would agree to meet them and talk about their current agreement, he guessed by the look on her face they hadn't mentioned it was Captain America who was coming by. "Hey there!" He called, climbing the few steps onto the porch. "Miss Reid? I'm Steve Rogers... someone called ahead I think."

She stuck her hand out and shook his, stepping back and holding the door open for him. "It's Danielle, and it's my pleasure to meet you Captain Rogers, yes they did. Please come inside..." Steve crossed the threshold and heard, before he saw, the large, black dog coming around the corner. "Hey there!" He dropped down to one knee, catching the unruly beast as it skidded to a halt on the wood floor and giving him a neck scratch.

"Oh! Ty!" She grabbed for his collar but Steve waved her away. "Sorry... he loves everyone."

"Don't worry about it... I love dogs so we'll be good friends... right? Ty?" He stood up and gave the dog another pat on the head.

"Short for Tiberius... named him after Captain Kirk." She shrugged and smiled, leading the way around into the kitchen, indicating a small table in the breakfast nook. "Make yourself at home, Captain Rogers..."

"Please, it's Steve, and thank you. This house is..." He looked around, pulling the chair out to sit. "It's great... was it in this condition when you bought it or?"

"Can I get you a glass of tea, or... um, water? I keep forgetting tea isn't a thing here..." She smiled at him and cocked her head to the side in a kind of 'oops' like gesture. "Some of it was, the bathrooms had been done, someone restored the hearth and fireplaces..." She gestured to the side of them, where a large fireplace with two hearths stood, one faced the living room on the other side of the wall, and one into the kitchen. It was nearly as tall as she was, and up and to the side of it was an oven, built into the brick. "That's original to the house... it was just given a little love by the previous owners... The rest was me... I've still not gotten to the upstairs, other than the master suite... the exterior was just painted... we're getting there." She smiled and poured herself a glass of tea.

"That's great... it looks incredible here... and tea is fine. Thank you. Do you have plans for the property or is this just going to be home?" He watched her as she took down another glass and filled it with ice, pouring the tea for him. His initial impression was that he liked her. Based on the information he'd gotten about her interactions with the legal team and how she'd comported herself during those meetings he knew she had backbone and fire, and if she'd uprooted herself to come and restore this property she was independent, capable, had a sense of adventure... More than that, she had agreed to meet with him to discuss this topic... which meant she was open minded as well...that was all good. And, she was just likable, Steve thought. Maybe it was that, what did they call it? Southern charm. Watching her move around before heading to sit with them at the table he considered her seriously... He doubted she'd put up with any shenanigans out of Bucky, not that he was likely to cause any, but maybe this could work, maybe it could help him come out of his shell, so to speak.

"I do... have plans. I'm hoping to restore the original barn and use it and some of the property as an event space... community gatherings, weddings, whatever... seems a shame to have this beautiful place and not share it. I'd to eventually get a few animals and get somethings growing too but... baby steps." She set the tea down and took a seat across from him. "So, I just want to start off by saying, I'm not really even sure we need to have this discussion... but everyone from my real estate agent to my lawyer seems to think we do so..." She spread her hands out and then dropped them to her lap.

Right. Pleasantries aside, down to business... Steve liked that too. He smiled at her and nodded, hands splayed out, palms up, as if to say she'd caught him. "I can understand their hesitation... and they are probably just looking out for you..." He took a sip of his tea, leaning back in his chair some. "I just wanted to reassure that, you aren't in any danger... Bucky may be a little out of the loop but... he's honest, attentive... I think it's probably a good idea for you to have someone in your corner on this too... " Steve swallowed and folded his hands on the table. "It's my understanding that before the previous owner came to this agreement that the push was to take the whole property... tear down the house and other buildings... I know the community out here wasn't for that, and I don't blame them... Off the record... it wouldn't surprise me for them to try and push you on that again... the government is...well, the government so... I just thought this would be a win-win. Bucky gets some moderate exposure to...ah... society... and we put someone on your team who isn't going to let anyone get away with anything that's not on the up and up..." He shrugged, as if that was it.

"That makes sense... the Avenger's get to put their face on this, a positive relationship between a community member and your organization..." She added and he nodded. "That's fine..." She sipped from her own glass, eyeing him. "Like I said... this was a courtesy meeting, I don't have a problem with this... if you and your team... the Secretary of State, and whomever else this had to go through, thinks it's fine then... so do I."

Steve was happy to hear that, he wished that could have been the end of it... "That's great. I'm glad you're open to this... I'd be lying if I said I didn't really want this to work... for him." He was being very honest with this woman, but it wasn't something he regretted, he wanted her to understand where he was coming from. He knew, despite what she said, that she might, deep down, have some fear or turmoil about this. He was trying to set her mind at rest. "There is one more thing... nothing to sign off on or anything but... Bucky wanted me to make sure that you fully understood who he is..."

Danielle nodded "I saw the news stories... I know." She watched Steve as he set the file that had been resting in his lap on the table.

"I'm not going to tell you that you have to read this... and please know, it wasn't my idea. Bucky wanted you to have the option... the details are missing, of course, some of this is classified so it's just an overview but... there's a pretty comprehensive...ah... high level look at what..." Steve swallowed hard "What has gone on with him, the past... well... Anyway... you read it if you want to. And if you do, and decide you don't want to go on with this... we'll call it off, no hard feelings."

Danielle reached out to him, laying a hand on the one of his that was atop the file folder. She gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded. "I appreciate the offer... you can tell Sergeant Barnes that as well, but, I'm ok. I don't need to know anything more than I do... and if there is something he wants me to know... he can tell me himself..." She squeezed down on Steve's hand just a little and then pulled her own back to her lap. They talked for a little while longer after that; about the project, about the house, a little about the path that had brought Danielle here, until both their glasses were empty and the prospect this little venture seemed much less daunting to both of them. Steve was sure that Danielle would be and Danielle had judged, no surprise really, that is Steve Rogers was on board with this, well, it was probably going to be ok.

"Thank you... Danielle..." Steve stood up from the table, a sense of relief having come over him as they'd wound down their conversation. "I guess he'll be here next Monday, then... bright and early..." Steve grinned. "I'll stop by from time to time, check how things are going, if that's alright?"

They stopped at the front door, having strolled through the living room and into the foyer as he spoke. "You are welcome here anytime Captain Ro... Steve... and yes, tell him to please come and introduce himself, or he is welcome to come by before Monday. I should be here... You have my contact information?"

"Yeah, I've got it all... Thank you, again. Have a good evening..." He smiled and she returned it. Steve bent down to give Ty, who was sitting at Danielle's heels another scratch before he pushed open the door and headed out, giving her a wave over his shoulder before hopping back in the SUV.

* * *

When Sunday evening rolled around Gina and Danielle were sitting at the kitchen island, empty dinner plates and partially full wine glasses before them.

"I still cannot believe that you had Captain America in this house..." Gina had not been able to let this go. "I mean, I know I'm the one who got you interested in this property and I knew about it's connection to the Avengers but... geez..." She polished off the last of the wine in her glass and pushed it aside.

"I know... I mean, I didn't really imagine I'd be dealing with anyone actually affiliated with them... let alone Steve Rogers..." Danielle held her own glass out, examining the contents before knocking back the last of the wine. At least they'd finished all the unpacking downstairs and in her room. There were still boxes in the garage and guest bedroom but, those could wait. She glanced up at Gina who was watching her, thoughtfully.

"You ready? For tomorrow? I mean, this is going to be a pretty big disruption..."

"Yeah... I guess so. The sooner they start, they sooner they'll finish, and then I can really get to work... maybe it's a blessing in disguise... give me time to really dig in to everything here at the house and get started on the barn before I worry about anything else... " Danielle shrugged, she'd been thinking a lot about all of this since Steve's visit and she'd determined to make the best of it.

"Maybe so... you're being fairly optimistic... I'd ask what's gotten into you, but I'm not sure I want to know." Danielle stuck her tongue out and made a face. "Very mature..." They both laughed, Gina glancing down at her watch after a moment. "I need to get going soon... I'm supposed to leave for the city early... that little convention thing... gotta go mingle with the other, less fabulous in my field..."

"Oh right... yes. You have fun with that..." They both laughed again and when the glasses were empty a minute later Danielle picked them up, depositing them in the sink while Gina gathered her things.

When they'd made their way out of the kitchen Gina smiled and hugged her, stepping into the foyer to pause next to the door. . "Look..." Gina began, seriously,"I know you're all good, and Captain Handsome came by and all that..." She winked at Danielle, trying to lighten the mood of the conversation a little, "But be careful, ok? At least while I'm gone... leave the drama until I'm back and can partake..."

"I will... I promise...you be careful... I know what nights out after work conventions are like... Have fun! I'll see you in a week ok?" They hugged again and then, after another moment, Gina was gone. Danielle turned to Ty, sitting on the couch and ushered him out the door. She needed to get to bed as well, especially if she was going to be up early. Mornings weren't her thing, so she needed a leg up if she were going to deal. When the dog had made his way back inside she locked up; turning out the lights and climbing the stairs to her room. She was still getting used to the house, the sounds it made, the temperature... all of it. She lay in bed for a while, Ty curled up at her feet, listening to the creaking of the old wood, the crickets outside... Her thoughts began to circle back to the day that lay ahead. She wondered if she should be more concerned, or if she were right, and everyone else was reading too much in to all of this. When she found it hard to make a decision and her thoughts were a jumble she tried to listen to what her gut told her; in this case, it said she was fine... For now that would have to do, and it was at least a way to calm her mind enough to eventually drift off to sleep; her eyes barely closing, it seemed, before it was time to wake and face the day.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading so far. I was able to bang out another part of this. I hope you enjoy it and please, any and all feedback is appreciated and loved.

* * *

The truck rolled to a stop, wheels crunching over the gravel of the driveway. Dawn was just breaking and despite the fact that Bucky wanted to head directly back to the work site, to give himself a minute before the crews arrived, Steve had made him promise to stop by the house first. He needed to introduce himself, and meet the woman he was ostensibly here to represent. He and Steve had had a long conversation the preceding day about how this was going to go, and Steve was adamant that Bucky be the one to make sure that the crews were upholding their side of the bargain, be the voice of reason and make good on the promises made to Danielle and subsequently the community. Danielle, he assumed when he saw her, was sitting on the porch swing, a mug of something in her hands. She gave him a wave, but didn't get up. A large, black dog, however, was bounding down the steps toward Bucky, who slid out of the truck and met the him in front of it, bending over to pet him.

She grinned, watching as Ty happily galloped out to meet the man, rubbing against him, his thick tail wagging hard enough to prevent him walking in a straight line. The interaction with Ty gave her a moment to asses him, that was good, a minute to quell her nerves... She'd been swapping from nervous to fine, unsure to confident, wondering if he would be difficult to deal with, or if she was going to make herself difficult to deal with by worrying so much... Finally, much too early in the morning, she'd gotten out of bed and said the hell with it, brewing up a kettle of Earl Grey and coming out to sit on the porch and clear her mind... and now, here he was... He was tall and built like... well he was big, she could see that from here. All muscle, obviously, but that was no real shock, particularly after having only recently met Steve Rogers. His hair was dark brown and long, hanging around his face in a thick curtain, a matching shadow of stubble growing in over a strong jawline and cleft chin. Other than the occasional glint from the metal left hand, it was his eyes that stood out. Even in the breaking light of morning, at a distance, she could see how blue they were. Not that she hadn't seen pictures on the news but, it was a different thing to see him here, in front of her. Ty seemed to be pleased with him, leaning his hefty body against him and panting happily; for now, that was a good enough endorsement for Danielle. Sitting up a little she cleared her throat and called out,"He likes you..." gesturing down to the dog. "Well, he likes everybody more or less but, I think you have a new friend...His name is Ty... " She gave Bucky a crooked smile and waved him up to the porch.

Bucky gave the dog a gentle pat on the side and then wiped his hands on his pants, palms suddenly sweaty with nerves, though he wasn't sure why. She was smiling at him like they were old friends and he found the openness unsettling or at least, unusual. People weren't supposed to react to him this way, were they? It seemed that no one had told this woman.

"Want some coffee? You're early anyway... I haven't seen any of the trucks come through yet..." She got up from the swing, carefully balancing the cup in one hand. She looked, Bucky thought, about his age or a little younger, his biological age, anyway... She was wearing a pair of black leggings and an over-sized grey sweatshirt, her feet were bare. Bucky wondered if she was cold, the air was definitely beginning to chill at night and early in the morning before the sun was out... If she was she didn't show it. When he had climbed the stairs she opened the screen door, ushering him inside and pausing, "I'm Danielle Reid..., it's nice to meet you Sergeant Barnes..." She stuck her hand out and waited, still beaming up at him. Bucky hesitated a moment and then held his right hand out, taking hers and giving it a brief shake.

"Ah... Bucky is fine..." He scratched the back of his neck and followed her inside when she made way for him, feeling a little uneasy, being in someone's home like this.

Her smile widened just a touch, "Bucky... great... kitchen's this way..." Danielle had disappeared around the corner and he followed her slowly, trying to remember the last time he'd been invited in anywhere like this... 70 years or more ago, certainly. He looked around as he moved out of the foyer and into the living room, taking in the large fireplace and fresh paint on the walls. Steve had been right, the house was charming... Bucky found he liked it quite a bit... it was only just a little bit older than he was, after all. When he rounded the next corner into the kitchen Danielle was behind the island in the center of the room, facing away from him, pouring coffee from a percolator on the stove into a travel mug.

"Do you want it black or... with milk or anything? I should have asked before..." Danielle set the mug on the counter, one hand coming up to tug at her hair which had been, at one point, in a bun atop her head, but was rapidly falling into chaos. It occurred to her that she looked an absolute mess, and she ducked her head, a little bit of pink staining her cheeks. "Sorry, I usually try to be a little more presentable when I have company but... it's early... "

Bucky watched her a moment, he wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about, she looked fine to him. And it *was* early. He wasn't really dressed to impress himself. He was wearing worn work boots that he'd picked up in Bucharest, a thin, long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of old jeans. He'd forgotten a hat, which was annoying, mostly because it meant he'd be constantly pushing his hair back from his eyes but, he could deal with it for one day. He realized that he'd been quiet a little too long, and she'd asked him a question. "Um... Black is fine... and it's... um fine." That had sounded dumb, even to Bucky, but he didn't really know what else to say. She didn't seem to mind.

"Alright..." Danielle put the lid on the coffee and came around the island, their height difference becoming very apparent as she approached. He hadn't really noticed until now. He was about a foot taller than her, a little more with the boots on... he found himself really looking at her now though, from her dark purple painted toes up to shapely legs and beyond. She didn't have the silhouette that he remembered from the 30s and 40s, she was... he wasn't sure what this was called but the thing then had been flat and angular, tall and broad shouldered... she wasn't that. Bucky been trying to catch up through the years by reading... politics, society, history... He'd learned things as the Winter Soldier but only what was relevant to missions, most of that didn't center on the social trends of the day, and certainly not whatever shape was fashionable for a woman, or anyone else. Something did come to mind though, a word stuck out to him, he'd read not that long ago, in something about the 50s maybe?... hourglass? That seemed right. Even under the large sweatshirt he could see that, though he wasn't looking too hard, he remembered enough about manners to know that he shouldn't. By the time his eyes landed on her face she was stopping up in front of him, reaching her hand out with the mug. He took it from her, studying the hazel color of her eyes, the slight, natural, down turned pout of her lips, her hair... it looked brown at first glance but there were subtle hints of copper running through it, and around her hairline, probably bleached from exposure to the sun.

Danielle wanted to move, to put some distance between them. His eyes were scrutinizing her in a way she couldn't remember being looked at before. But she didn't, she stood her ground, only taking a little step back when he took the mug from her hand. She didn't think he meant anything nefarious by it, she supposed he was still acclimating to life after... well, what he'd been through, so she was willing to give him a pass. This close she was able to study him a little better as well. The metal arm was mostly hidden by the long-sleeved shirt he wore, but his hand was clearly visible. She tried not to stare at it but she couldn't deny that it was fascinating, though certainly asking about it would be off limits... His eyes were even bluer at this range, features handsome in a way that wasn't immediately apparent underneath his disheveled appearance... but it was there, certainly. She glanced away at that thought, the little moment of silence broken after by his voice.

"Thank you..." He murmured, and swallowed, hoping he hadn't been inappropriate in assessing her that way... He just, needed to focus on things. Details helped him, it was a way to bridge the gap between all those years of training to be so aware, observant, and constantly prepared for anything to now... where he was interacting with people... he found he could still use that skill; try to read body language, note things about the way people moved or spoke. It was his way of getting to know someone, at least a little, without having to speak to them... speaking was the hard part.

"Of course..." She reached out, absently, and clapped him lightly on the forearm, his metal arm, and she felt him freeze, his eyes widening ever so slightly. She realized and dropped her hand quickly. "I'm sorry... " She stepped back a little and he shook his head, muttering that it was ok. Damn, she cursed herself mentally. Give the man some space... "Right um... oh, have you eaten?" She was already headed back to the kitchen counter "I haven't made breakfast yet but... I'm sure I can..."

"I'm fine..." Bucky cut her off, his voice coming out a little more harsh than he'd intended. She stopped, turning to him, blushing again. "You don't have to feed me..." He added, trying his best to lighten his tone.

"Sorry I... it's habit." She shrugged and glanced down at her hands on the counter top. They were both silent for another moment and then the sounds of the logging trucks saved them. Bucky was glad. He wasn't exactly looking forward to coming face to face with the crew who he was assuming were not going to be happy about this arrangement, but anything was better than standing here awkwardly, like this.

"I should go... Thank you for the coffee. I'll bring the mug back." He looked at her for just a moment more and then headed back through the house and out the front door.

By the time Danielle had made it to the porch, he was already backing the truck up and pointing it toward the road cut through to the back of the property. Well, that had gone sideways, she thought. She needed to be a little more careful. This man had a lot of baggage... He was carrying a lot, had been through more than she could really imagine, and it wasn't fair for her to try and impose too much on his time or personal space. She knew that Captain Rogers... Steve, hoped this would help him, but, she suspected he needed to do things in his own time, to find his own way. Having to speak to this many people and work with an unfamiliar group was going to be hard on him, she guessed; she could have done a better job of making his first moments with her a little less stressful and tense. She resolved to do better next time... Now, though, she had work to do.

One of the first things Danielle had done when she'd moved in, had been to clear out the old garden beds behind the house and replant them. She'd managed to get some semi-mature plants locally and had put down a variety of herbs, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, and a few other things... most of which would be ready to harvest in another month or so and she needed to get out there and thin out the plants and make sure they were still healthy. She hadn't had a lot of time to devote to it since she'd done the original planting, so a little care for the garden was overdue. After a quick breakfast of some toast and another cup of hot tea she changed into a worn pair of jeans and an equally worn t-shirt before slipping on a pair of battered, green wellies and setting out to the flower beds.

* * *

Danielle had been at it for a couple of hours, though to be fair she'd gotten distracted for a while by a stand of stinging nettle she noticed under one of the shade trees around the back of the house. They had already flowered and weren't edible now but, she wanted to take care of them so she could put them to use next year when spring came. After that she'd taken some time to throw the ball with Ty before getting back to work in the raised garden bed and by the time Noon rolled around she was filthy, and sweaty, but finished. The sound of a vehicle approaching caught her attention, and Ty's; he trotted down off the porch to see what it was. Bucky was pulling the black, government plated truck up in front of the house as she climbed out of the bed and dusted the soil from her, picking up the hem of her shirt and wafting it back and forth, trying to fan some of the sweat from her body. He was pretty sweaty himself, and she had no doubt that supervising or not, he'd jumped in and done some of the heavy lifting.

He spotted her immediately and came around the side of the house to where she stood, holding the travel mug in his right hand. "Thought I should bring this back..." He looked from her to the now pristine garden bed, the tops of the plants all perky and spaced out. She was rather proud of it. "Been gardening?" He asked, shoving his metal hand into his pocket.

"Yeah... it needed some help, and I'm trying to hone my skills... I'm not as much of a green thumb as I'd like to be..." Danielle took the mug from him and picked up the little pail of tools she'd been using. "Want to step inside and cool off?" She resisted the urge to ask if he wanted anything to eat, though her own stomach was beginning to make its hunger known. She had promised herself she wasn't going to overstep and she meant to keep to that.

"Sure..." He was a little more sure of himself now than he had been earlier, and was less hesitant about following her inside. The work site was really just getting its footing, even after nearly six hours of work, they were still in just the beginning stages of clearing small items from the area and mapping out where the equipment would go and how it was all going to work. Fortunately, there'd been some lifting to be done, something Bucky could do, with his hands. He found that helpful in distracting his mind, and it seemed to aid in his relationship with the crews. When you were carrying a large, fallen tree trunk with several other men, you weren't really worrying about who they were, just that you were working together.

"Well, come on..." She gave him a quick smile over her shoulder and headed for the house. Danielle stopped a moment to kick her boots off at the door before going in and she noticed that Bucky did the same. His weren't nearly as muddy as hers, but she appreciated it all the same. When they were inside, Ty following Bucky like a furry, black shadow, she led them to the kitchen and set the mug in the sink. Without asking she poured them both a glass of water and handed his over, leaning against the island as she drank her own.

"Thank you..." He took the glass and drank deeply from it and it occurred to Danielle, though it was obvious, something she already *knew*, it just hit her fully that this... this was the Winter Soldier. This was a man whose face had been plastered on every media outlet there was... first as an assassin, then as a terrorist, and most recently as the pardoned, POW James Barnes, finally brought home after his mistreatment by HYDRA (and misjudgment by the rest of the world). And here he was, standing in her kitchen, in his socks, drinking a glass of water because it was hot out and he'd been working hard. She didn't know why it struck her so poignantly. She did know that there had been people to oppose his return to the States, people who thought he was dangerous, they had run the story into the ground until the public at large grew sick of hearing about it... and anyway, most folks thought he deserved better than to be abandoned by his country... but she did wonder what those naysayers would think if they could see this... Even with all those thoughts swirling in her head, it hadn't quite set in that this was really the same man... He didn't look all that dangerous right now, he looked dirty, rugged, and handsome (though she wasn't going to allow herself to dwell on that for too long, it was the second time today she'd had that thought, and that was two too many), and maybe not happy, but content.

"How's it going down there?" She spoke, at length, setting down her glass, but reluctant to move from her spot leaning against the counter.

"Ok." He took a breath and answered and then finished the rest of the water. "There was... " Bucky chose his words carefully "an adjustment period... this morning... but I think we are alright." He sat the glass down and she refilled it for him, their eyes meeting momentarily. She had obviously guessed his meaning and he should have left it at that, but for some reason he didn't. "Thank you... Thomas, um, the foreman... he's not too happy to have me." That had just slipped out and he wasn't quite sure why. It was the truth though. The other guys, for the most part, had just gone on with their work, if a little grudgingly... the foreman, that was a different story. He'd made it clear that he thought Bucky was not only ill equipped to have anything to do with this project but that he was dangerous and would be treated as such. It wasn't exactly a surprise, that reaction, but one he'd been hoping to avoid so bluntly and early on. Still, the man wasn't altogether wrong and Bucky couldn't exactly hold it against him... he'd just determined to prove him wrong.

"Heh... I wouldn't worry about him... I met him a couple of days ago... didn't seem like the kind of man that is ever too happy about anything." She stood up straight, stretching her arms above her head, her shoulder cracking audibly. She could feel him looking at her over the rim of the glass as he drank, taking in her words. She meant them. She'd met Mister Charles Thomas when he came to survey the site last Friday and she'd not been impressed. He was a curmudgeon if she'd ever seen one, but she guessed that was just his way; she only hoped the man in front of her didn't take it too much to heart. Deciding to turn the subject, and with her stomach now audibly growling, she met his eyes again. "Hungry? I know... I don't have to feed you but... you have to eat, especially working out in this heat... " She sounded like her mother, something else she didn't really want to dwell on, but it was the truth.

"I guess but... I don't want to be any trouble..." He sat the water glass, now empty again, down on the counter. She moved to refill it and he waved her away. "I'm fine..." He wasn't used to being fussed over like this. Sure, they did their fair share of fussing at the Avenger's facility, but it was different. He imagined she probably treated most people in her home this way. Being worried about in a way that was genuine and not bound up in concern for his mental stability or the level of threat that he posed was still foreign to him; it was definitely going to take some getting used to. As soon as he had that thought he found himself surprised. Why would he need to get used to it? This was just a today thing, right? He probably wasn't going to be seeing much of this woman, so, was there really going to be a chance to get 'use to her'. He felt his mind starting down a path of confusion; trying to decipher his feelings and thoughts was still a tiresome process and one he couldn't really afford just now, so he pushed it from his mind, rolling his shoulders as a way of physically throwing off the thoughts.

"Ok... well help yourself... and you're not any trouble. I was just going to have some leftovers, it isn't much..." She shrugged, pulling a large container out of the fridge. "Salad... from last night... if you want... it's ok if you don't." She didn't want him to feel pressured. She busied herself assembling the salad (it was simple; spinach and walnuts, with feta crumbled on top, and a few strawberries tossed in for good measure), pulling a bottle of balsamic vinegar down from the cabinet and mixing up a quick vinaigrette. She could feel that he was watching her again, but she tried not to be bothered by it, allowing him some time to think, make a decision, whatever it was he was doing in there.

"Ok." He said, finally. Danielle looked up and smiled, she seemed to smile a lot. Again, he knew that was a good thing but her smiles seemed to come so easily, so naturally. There were things that made Bucky want to smile, but most of the time getting that from his brain to his face was too much effort to waste on something so trivial... "What is that?" He was pointing to something as she crumbled it down over the greens, mixing it all up in a large, wooden bowl.

"Feta cheese... It's Greek... made of sheep's milk, I think. Do you want to taste it, first?" She held out a piece to him and he looked at it and her, skeptically at first, before reaching out to take it from her and popping it into his mouth. His face gave no indication of whether or not he liked it, so she kept on, finishing the salad with the strawberries and setting two wooden utensils on top, moving around him to take the bowl to the little table near them.

"It's kind of salty and... I don't know." He wasn't' sure what the word he was looking for was. The taste definitely wasn't familiar, no doubt this wasn't available on your run-of-the-mill grocery shelf back when he was doing any shopping.

"Tangy?" She offered, coming back to grab bowls, forks, and napkins. "Did you like it?" She set the table and returned to the counter again to retrieve their glasses, refilling them and taking them to the table.

"I guess... I didn't not like it..." He answered, and it sounded earnest, like he just wasn't quite sure.

"Well it isn't for everyone... if you don't like it... you don't have to eat it..." She was smiling again, sliding into her chair and reaching into the center of the table to serve herself a portion of salad. "Oh, the dressing..." She started to stand, but Bucky, having not moved yet, stepped over and picked up the glass carafe she'd poured it into and brought it over, setting it and himself down. He was still for a minute, his face set in a strange way, like he wasn't sure again, of exactly what to do. She wondered if he ate with anyone, or spent any real time at all, with anyone, at the Avenger's facility. "Thank you..." She nodded to the dressing and then stood up, taking his plate from in front of him and serving some salad onto it before settling back into her chair. She dressed her salad and handed him the carafe. "You might want to taste it first..." She wasn't sure if balsamic vinegar was something he'd be accustomed to or not but he was already drizzling it, rather daintily, over his plate.

"I'm sure it's fine... thank you." He glanced up at her and picked up his fork, hesitating a moment and watching her. Danielle wasn't religious, at least not in anyway that required a pre-meal blessing, so she picked her own fork, made a little 'cheers' motion at him and dug in. After just a moment, he leaned down and followed suit. It was easier to mimic the habits of others in situations like these. Acceptable behavior had changed so much since the last time he'd sat down to a meal with a woman... that thought struck him rather hard. This obviously wasn't a date or anything like it but... barring meals where Natasha or Wanda were present, or even with Shuri in the lab in Wakanda, he hadn't sat down at a table across from a woman in a very, very long time. He found he was suddenly much more self-aware and self-conscious; it would be too easy to do something out of line here, so his best option was to eat quickly and quietly and get out.

They ate in silence, Danielle glancing up every now and and again to seem him focused on his plate. It made her smile, the thought she'd had earlier coming back to her, this man that people seemed to fear... who seemed to know that people feared him, eating a spinach salad at her table. She very nearly laughed out loud, and had to turn it into a cough at the last second to stop herself. He jerked his head up at the sound and looked at her.

"I'm ok... " She managed, taking a drink of water. "Just went down the wrong way... sorry." She could feel heat in her cheeks again, much like this morning, and she was glad he didn't say anything. He just went back to eating, finishing up his plate and pushing it forward slightly. "You're welcome to more, if you want..." She pointed to the large bowl in the center of the table, and he shook his head.

"No thank you... Not sure that... what is this?" He held up the carafe of dressing.

"The dressing? Balsamic vinegar and olive oil with a few spices... Balsamic vinaigrette, I guess you'd call it."

"Vinegar... that's what it is..." He made a curious face and lifted his eyebrows a little. "Not sure that's for me."

Danielle finished her last bite of salad and fixed him with a look of mock frustration, "You didn't have to eat it..."

"I know... " He didn't say anything else, so she didn't press him. He just got up, pushing in his chair and picking up his plate and fork. She could see him looking around the cabinets and counters, his eyes finally settling on the sink. She wondered what he'd do if she didn't say anything, but he was looking a little concerned and she found couldn't let him flounder.

"Just set it in the sink. I'll wash everything up in a little while..." She got up, taking her own plate and stepping up to him, she took his from his hand.

"Are you sure? I... " She could see he was struggling, manners fighting with this strange self-consciousness.

"It's fine... besides... " She glanced up at the clock, it was just ticking past twelve thirty. "Don't you have work to do..?" Her tone was light, teasing, she hoped to relieve him of any sense of duty to staying and cleaning up. "I'm going to be here in the air conditioning, washing a couple of plates, you are going to be outside cutting down trees or whatever it is y'all are doing down there... I think I have the better end of this deal."

Bucky stood there for just a moment longer and then nodded, once, and murmured thank you, for probably the fiftieth time, he thought and turned to walk back out of the house, much as he had this morning. She stopped him though, calling out just as he rounded the corner into the living room.

"I'll have coffee ready in the morning... if you want it..." He didn't reply, just kept going. He felt suddenly like it was very warm and stuffy inside this house and he really, really needed to get out. He was able to breathe a sign of relief on the porch and quickly put his boots on and headed back down to the truck, throwing it into gear and heading back to the site, trying to turn his mind back to the work and away from that interaction. It hadn't really been that bad, a little awkward, but nothing that couldn't be recovered from... still, his heart was pounding, palms sweating again. This was why he barely spoke to anyone, except maybe Steve, he just didn't know how to relate to people anymore. He didn't know things that were seemingly common place, like that cheese... he knew how to behave in general but, things were acceptable now that had never been when he was a young man, and people were just different... no, well, they were but, the real issue was that he was different. He wasn't the James Buchanan Barnes that had gone off to join the Army, he wasn't HYDRA's asset the Winter Soldier, he was something else... someone else... some bizarre mix of the two. He had worked hard with all of the doctors and therapists to make progress, to get himself to a place of acceptance. Forgiveness wouldn't ever be an option, but he could at least accept that he had been the Winter Soldier, and he had done terrible things, things that were beyond his control. That was just a fact, and when Bucky treated it like a fact it was something he could acknowledge. Fine, so he knew (more or less) who he was before HYDRA, he accepted what he'd done for HYDRA, but now... what did that leave? He didn't know, and even though he knew this was supposed to help him find that, he couldn't see how. When he pulled the truck back up to the work site they were already in the thick of it and he was grateful, being able to dive in and relieve his mind, at least temporarily.

Danielle listened as he left the house, paused on the porch to put on his boots and then start the truck up and take off. At least that had gone a little better, she thought, or hoped. He was talking some, and honestly, other than being a little socially awkward he wasn't exactly in the kind of shape she had imagined, especially not after her conversation with Steve. She'd feared he'd be much darker or... well, she didn't really know what but... he just seemed shy. Unsure of himself. That wasn't so bad. In a way, it was a little bit refreshing. She did wonder if he'd come back in the morning for coffee though, and decided she'd keep making it, each morning, just in case... Maybe there was nothing to worry about here. All of Gina's concerns, and even her own, about how this would play out seemed as if they were unfounded. And, as Steve had pointed out, it would be nice to have someone, other than Danielle, keeping the State Department accountable; even though their interaction today had been brief, she had no doubt that Bucky would do just that.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello everyone! Thanks so much for reading so far. I'm sort of just letting this story lead me where it wants to go right now, so I hope that doesn't turn any of you away... I definitely have some moments / points I plan to hit but, I like the idea of letting it determine its own direction to some degree. This chapter and the next few will likely just be glimpses / moments that build on the two main characters, so definitely let me know what you think, what you like, what you don't... I welcome it all. Thanks again! Happy reading!**

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Danielle finally felt like she was starting to settle into a rhythm on the farm, even with the work going on at the back of the property. She was coming right along with the remaining renovations inside the house… only the upstairs bathroom really remained to be completed, save getting furniture and decor settled. Bucky seemed to be a little more at ease around her as well. The first week she'd had to ask him each day to come back by for a cup of coffee in the mornings, but at the start of the second, he'd just shown up, to her delight. Bringing the cup back each day seemed to cause him some stress though; he'd made a point of coming back on his lunch break at first but she'd told him he didn't need to worry about that, he could bring it back the next morning or on his way out and so that's what he done. Depending on when they packed up in the evenings he'd show up, knocking tentatively at the door and then, at least the first few times, they would argue over who was going to wash the mug. Well, argue as much as you could with a man who gave you one word responses and was not intimidated by someone like Danielle. She'd caved, eventually and let him do it. Her, 'you're out there doing the hard work' excuse had only worked the once and after that, he wasn't interested in hearing it again, so she'd let it be. When week three rolled around he seemed to really be settling in as well - she'd even started leaving the door unlocked for him in the mornings and evenings, so he could let himself in when he arrived. He'd managed not to complain about that too much. She'd also had a chat with the foreman, who while not thrilled about having the Winter Soldier around (he kept referring to Bucky that way despite Danielle's protests), confirmed that he was working hard, jumping into tasks that he really didn't have to help with, and digging his heels in to learn everything he could and stay on top of the work. Something about that made her feel a little proud though she wasn't exactly sure why.

That Wednesday evening found Danielle in the living room where she was sat on the couch, her knees drawn up to her chest, bent over painting her toenails. The pot of polish was balanced precariously on the arm of the couch and the tip of her tongue was stuck out between her teeth as she concentrated. She'd painted her fingernails first, letting them dry before moving on to her feet. She was nearly done but this was always the point when something went wrong. In more than 30 years of life painting her nails without smudging one or getting the polish on something still required all of her focus. She heard the screen door open and shut and when she looked up Bucky was standing in the opening that led from the foyer into the living room, watching her, his face guarded. There was a v-shaped damp spot on the front of his grey henley; obviously he'd been working hard this evening. She saw that he'd taken his boots off before coming in and it made her smile.

"How's it going out there?" Danielle looked down again, making a few touch ups with the polish brush before returning it to the pot and screwing it on tight.

"Alright…" Came the gruff, brief response she grown accustomed to, "I brought back the mug." He held it up and she nodded, not that it needed saying, though he seemed determined to tell her each day.

"Thank you…" She offered up another smile, though it faltered as she cast her eyes over his face again. There was something off, his eyes were distant, confused and then, he blinked and it was gone. "Everything ok?"

"Yes…" In seventy-some-odd years women were still painting their nails… it shouldn't have shocked him as much as it did to see her sitting there like that. Nail polish wasn't something he'd ever given too much thought but, it was somehow both startling and comforting to see that it was still in fashion. He shook his head to clear out the thought and started moving past her toward the kitchen and then paused, turning back around. An image flashed in his mind… A smokey dance hall, the delicate hands of some dame… that's what he called her… gripping the lapel of his shirt, her nails painted, standing out against her pale skin in the low light. He made a sound that he had to try and pass off as a clearing of the throat, hoping Danielle hadn't noticed. She was watching him though and he was sure she had. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, his brow furrowing as he spoke, "I just sometimes forget that while lot of things have changed some things haven't changed at all."

He was staring at the bottle of dark red polish, that curious distant look appearing briefly on his face again… Dani wondered if he was seeing some image from his life before the war, before Hydra. He was so serious and being so honest, she didn't want to spoil the moment but she had to fight to keep the smile from her face. This was the first personal thing he'd said to her… ok, so it wasn't that personal but, it was a start. "Everything changes, everything stays the same" she responded leaning back and stretching her legs out in front of her, smiling down at her now, dark red toes. She was already wearing her comfy clothes; an old college sweatshirt over a pair of black athletic shorts. She hadn't thought anything of it, she hadn't once changed out of her lounge clothes in the mornings when came by, but when she glanced back up at Bucky his gaze was trailing down her bare legs to her feet. It wasn't a subtle look either and Dani found she didn't quite know how to feel about it… it didn't necessarily make her uncomfortable but it was certainly unexpected, particularly from him.

Bucky realized he'd been staring at her legs… the image of the dance hall had faded briefly but come back again as Danielle had stretched out. Legs peeking out from skirts, lines painted up the back, crossed one over the other sitting in a chair next to him… He felt heat rushing to his face as he understood he'd been caught, what he'd done and dropped his gaze quickly, clearing his throat. "I guess so" He muttered and disappeared around the corner. He went straight to the sink, turning on the water and letting it warm, sticking his hand under to test the temperature and being surprised to find that it was much, much too hot. "What's going on with the hot water?"

Bucky's voice was so quiet that Danielle wasn't sure at first if he was talking to her or to himself. "It's not heating up?" She asked, slipping off the couch to pad into the kitchen, stepping up beside him at the sink - the previous, awkward moment forgotten. She could see steam rising up from the basin where the water was hitting it and furrowed her brow. "What is it?" She asked, reaching a hand out to put her fingers in the water to test the temperature. Bucky reacted more quickly than she could have expected, his metal hand grabbing her wrist, lightly but firmly, stopping her from touching the water.

"It's scalding... You'll burn yourself…" She looked up at him, he wasn't looking at her, but at his hand, holding her wrist. "It wasn't this hot yesterday…"

"Oh…" She gently moved her wrist away from the water and back toward herself. His fingers stayed curled around it for just a moment and then he let go. "The plumber was here this morning… working on the guest bathroom, he definitely was in the closet where the water heater is… maybe he changed the temperature?"

Bucky looked down at her and nodded, stepping away from the sink. "Where?" He hadn't meant to grab her so quickly, but at least it had been gentle… Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice warned him to be careful. Danielle had never shown any aversion to his metal arm but, she hadn't been exposed to it that much either… He didn't want to put himself in a position where he would have to see her revulsion to it. He tried not to think about though, tried to focus on what she was saying, on the issue at hand.

"The hot water heater? Through here…" She squeezed her way between him and the island, moving to the back of the kitchen where it opened up into a hallway (now enclosed it had once been a breezeway) that contained the laundry room, downstairs half bath, and led to the garage. Bucky followed behind her, into the laundry room where she opened a slatted closet door to reveal the heater, and then stepped aside so he could see. She watched him kneel down, hands easily finding the dial on the heater, leaning in so that he could see it better. He turned it a little and then stood up.

"I'm going to turn the water on, when I tell you, turn it to the left, just a little and then stop. Ok?" He pointed to the red dial.

"I can go test it, if you'd rather…"

"No." He cut her off and strode out of the laundry room. She tired to listen for his footsteps, but as usual, they were silent; a true miracle considering the way the old wooden floors of the house tended to groan and creak. She didn't hear anything at all for a few minutes, and guessed he was letting the water heat back up. Danielle was growing used to Bucky's concise responses but, that no had been a little sharp and she wasn't really sure why. "Turn it, just a little…" She heard him say, pausing her train of thought, his voice as loud as she'd heard it yet. Leaning down she turned the red dial just a little and then waited. That was the thing about Bucky, he was so soft-spoken, she hadn't heard him raise his voice or even really speak in a way that indicated he was annoyed or feeling any kind of way but neutral… well, until just a moment ago, and even that was very mild. "A little more…" He called again, after another minute he was silent again, suddenly appearing in the laundry room a few moments later. "Ok, that's where it should be." He pulled a pen from his back pocket and squated back down in front of the heater, marking a line on the red dial where it now sat under the arrow printed onto the metal above it. "This way you'll know which is the right place…" He explained, standing back and slipping the pen back into his pocket.

"Thank you… That would have been an unpleasant surprise in the shower if you hadn't noticed…" She tried to give him a little smile but, he only looked at her, face passive.

"It would have burned you. I don't think unpleasant is exactly the word." She was being a little too casual for his liking. If she'd gotten into the shower before the water heated all the way up and it had risen to that temperature it would have burned her badly. Maybe he was being worrisome but, that didn't seem like something to joke about to him.

"Yeah, I guess not… Still, thank you." She wasn't really sure how to respond. She got that it would have been bad had she gotten under water that hot but, it wasn't exactly the end of the world. He looked at her a moment more and then turned and walked out of the room. When she caught up to him he was headed back to the sink to wash the mug.

"If you need to go, I can get it… this once. Especially since you just fixed the water temperature…" She leaned against the counter, watching him as he bent over the sink, scrubbing the mug.

"It's fine." was all she got in return. He washed the cup dutifully, his mind working over the past few minutes, over analyzing his words, his motions… She was moving somewhere behind him and he was glad for the distraction as he rinsed the cup.

Danielle sighed, pushed off the counter and turned to the island, sliding a plastic, domed pie plate toward her. She wasn't hungry enough to make a full blown dinner but, there was a quarter of a pecan pie that needed to be eaten. No sense in throwing it away. She busied herself heating up the oven and getting out a baking sheet, which she slid the remaining pie onto so that it could reheat properly. While it was warming she pulled a tub of vanilla ice cream from the freezer and set it on the counter. She hadn't noticed that Bucky had finished with the mug, usually he said a curt goodbye and left before she could offer him food or try to talk to him too much. Tonight he was standing with his back again the sink, arms folded over his chest watching her.

"What are you doing?" Bent down, peering into the oven window, Danielle had not expected his question and gave a little start, standing up and looking over at him. His eyebrows raised up some as he asked.

"Heating up dinner…"

"That's not dinner, that's pie…" He looked at the tub on the counter "and ice cream." Was she really just going to eat… a quarter of pie by herself? Did women do that? Just sit down and gorge themselves on things like pie? He would have, gladly, maybe not in front of anyone, but he couldn't remember any of the women he'd ever been out with opting to have dessert for dinner. Then again, he was coming to understand that Danielle wasn't really like any woman he'd ever known, and it wasn't just the generation gap that made her different… it was just, who she was.

"And that can't be dinner?" She quirked an eyebrow at him before opening the oven door and pulling the baking sheet out. He didn't respond, so she kept on with what she was doing, sliding the pie onto a plate and grabbing two spoons and an ice cream scoop from the drawer. Bucky still had his arms folded across his chest and was watching her with an almost critical gaze. She ignored him and set the pie on the island between them sliding a spoon over toward where he stood and dropping a couple of scoops of ice cream into the plate. She put the ice cream back in the fridge and climbed up on a stool, swinging her legs as she took up her own spoon and dug into the pie. It was delicious, just slightly warm, and the ice cream was beginning to melt over top. Another mouthful of pie later and she saw the other spoon enter her field of vision. Wordlessly, Bucky scooped up a bite and ate. He gave no indication that he liked it or not, except that after a moment he came back for another bite, and then another after that.

It didn't take long to finish it, the two of them eating in silence; Danielle swinging her legs from the stool, Bucky propping his elbows on the counter opposite her. When she finally laid down her spoon he quickly picked it and the plate up, turning with them back to the sink to wash them.

"Hey!" She protested, sliding off of the stool and marching up beside him, fixing him with what she hoped was an intimidating glare. He ignored her so she pulled the dish towel off its hanger and plucked the first spoon right out of his hand when he was done rinsing it. He whipped his head to the side, an incredulous look on his face. She supposed people didn't snatch things from him very often but she didn't falter under the look, she grinned at him and dried the spoon, holding her hand out for the next one. He gave it to her with a huff, but Danielle was almost certain she saw the corner of his mouth turn up when he went back to washing the plate. Victory! She thought, but knew better than to say anything. So, she stood there, dried the plate and then the sheet pan when he'd washed it too, wiping her hands on the towel and handing it to him when he was through.

"Thank you for the pie" Bucky hung the towel back up. It was kind of nice, doing something… different. He liked routine, that was true. His whole life, the good and the bad, had been built on it. When he and Steve had been young they'd done some things on a whim or two, but the military… the army… that had been all routine, and his time as the Winter Soldier well… there wasn't anything outside of routine. He had certain parameters, rules, a process and he operated only within those… at least he had… until D.C. Now routine helped him stay focused, helped him cope… but this, something like having some homemade pie for dinner, standing in Danielle's kitchen was a safe deviation. Safe… that was a word he hadn't really thought about much and it perplexed him that he thought about it in conjunction with the petite woman sitting on the stool across from him. Regardless, he should go, he'd stayed here too long, long enough that his mind was drifting, so he gave her a nod and started toward the door, reverting right back to his usual mode of being. He did, however, pause to glance over at her again before he left the kitchen, his face a little more relaxed than normal, a little less guarded than before. "Goodnight." He said it so softly it was a nearly a whisper.

Danielle heard him, turning to face him fully, a wide, warm smile brightening her eyes, "Goodnight Bucky."

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Bucky tried not to dwell on his interaction with Danielle on the drive home, especially not how it had ended. It was a good thing, but in his mind it was too good. He wasn't sure he liked the unfamiliar warmth that seemed to spread through his chest in moments like the one they'd just shared. It had been so simple, just two people, eating together, in silence. Most people would have taken it for granted, found it meaningless… he didn't. Then there was the other thing… He had snapped at her just a little, just with one word, but still… It had only been because he didn't want her to get hurt… scalding water would do little to him, but to her… He could have just explained that, the small voice in his head piped up again, could have just said 'let me do this so you don't have to'. No, instead he was closed off, gruff. Despite that she'd let him stay, let him eat, accepted his help with the hot water heater… She was too nice sometimes, he thought, especially to someone like himself… He was getting better though, slowly, marginally; even he had to admit that. It was much and it wasn't fast, but at least it was forward motion. He had memorized the names of all of the crew he worked regularly with, he remembered to ask them how their weekends went, and even started to pay attention to local news and the sporting teams they mentioned, so that he could participate, even if only minimally, in conversations with them. His therapist, who he only saw each month now at the Avenger's facility, had been pleased to hear of all that. He had also been pleased to hear that Bucky had struck up a rapport of sorts with Danielle. He encouraged him to continue on that path, praising him, overmuch Bucky thought, for having worked each day to completion, for having not lashed out or been overly reactionary, for getting to know people. Bucky agreed that those were all good things but, he wasn't sure he deserved congratulations for simply acting like a normal human being. He also wasn't sure he wanted to think anymore about all of that, no matter how positive it was. Thinking tended to get him in trouble… it would start out alright, but then his thoughts would turn dark, recalling memories better left tucked away in the recesses of his mind, reminding him that no matter how many hot water heaters he fixed, or how much he helped out the guys on the logging crew, he was not a good man. When it came down to it, he wasn't really much of anything, but he definitely wasn't good… he was just this shell of a person, going through the motions, trying to figure out how to live a life with all the things he carried on his conscience; how to not hurt anyone else, how to not hurt himself, and how to do it without crumbling under the weight of his guilt.

Thankfully, before he could go too far down that road, he was arriving back at the compound. Steve was waiting for him when he hit entered the building which housed their quarters. They'd made a habit of going to the gym each evening, when they could; something they'd started not long after Bucky returned to the States. This was another nice routine, it let them both blow off a little steam and start to rebuild the bond they'd had all those years ago. A couple of hours later they had just returned from their workout, sweaty and tired, and were standing in a communal kitchen area, silently drinking water from their respective glasses. Steve set his aside and pulled the small towel down off his shoulder, slinging it across the empty space between himself and the other man, the edge of the towel catching Bucky's upper arm. "How's the job going?" Steve flipped the towel back up onto his shoulder, meeting Bucky's glare, unintimidated. "You've hardly said a word about it…"

"Nothing to say…" Bucky responded, turning to face Steve, leaning his backside against the counter, arms folding over his chest as he sets his glass down.

"Come on Buck… It's been three weeks… How's it working with the crews? You getting along any better with the foreman? How about Danielle? See much of her?" Steve could tell he was annoying his friend with the string of questions, but he wanted to know, and it wouldn't hurt Bucky to answer simple queries about his days spent on this project.

Bucky shifted uncomfortably, glancing around before letting his eyes settle on Steve, a sigh passing his lips. "It's fine. The main crew is fine, even… nice, I guess." He shrugged. It was true. Those guys treated him pretty much like everyone else. There were a couple of exceptions, but by and large, he liked them well enough and they seemed to feel the same way. "Foreman doesn't like me, but when he needs to move something heavy…" Steve laughed and Bucky let his mouth twitch into something like a smile. He picked his water glass up, taking another drink from it.

"And? How's it coming? What about Danielle?" Steve prodded, folding his own arms and fixing Bucky with a look that said he wasn't going to give this up. Bucky knew that look all too well.

"Really still just getting started… Finally got all the equipment in and the area mapped, now just working on clearing and grading land… I see her some…" He added the latter hastily, hoping Steve would leave it there.

"What does some mean?" Bucky gave Steve a look of exasperation, but the man didn't waiver or cave.

"She has coffee ready in the mornings… so I stop by and get some… she lets me use this travel cup… I bring it back before I leave…" He shrugged his shoulders, heavily this time, doing his best to look casual. Casual wasn't exactly Bucky's thing anymore though, and Steve saw right through him.

"So every morning for the last three weeks… you stop by her house at what, six? She fixes you coffee, you take it to the work site, and then in the evenings again, you stop by and drop off the cup and then come home?" Steve was trying desperately not to smile, his lips twitching with the effort.

"I wash it… " He added, realizing too late that he should have kept that to himself. Steve's eyebrows raised and he coughed away a chuckle that was building in his throat. "She's just being nice Steve… You don't need to make this anymore… weird than it already is."

Steve held his hands up and ducked his head a little. "I'm not buddy, I'm not. I'm just glad you're making friends… alright?"

"I don't know that we're friends…" Bucky grumbled, almost grudgingly, as if having a friend other than Steve was somehow a bad thing.

"She makes you coffee every morning Buck… you're friends... " Steve slapped him on the arm, turning to walk out of the kitchen. "Keep up the good work… I'm gonna go grab a shower…"

"Very funny!" Bucky gave the man a light shove as he passed, his eyes rolling a little, but try as he might, he couldn't fight the faint upward curve of his own mouth at the exchange. He wasn't sure if it was the topic or Steve, but either way, as much as he might protest, this kind of banter… a little normalcy in their friendship, much like his budding relationships with Danielle and the work crew, was nice. Really nice, and despite his misgivings about his own nature and whether or not he believed he deserved it, nice was something he had missed, and he did not intend to squander it now.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry for the delay y'all. It's been a week. Anyhow, this chapter is a bit longer but, it seemed to want to go that way, so I let it. As always, thank you so much for reading. Please let me know your thoughts, likes, dislikes, questions, etc... I appreciate all of it. Happy reading!**

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Another couple of weeks passed, putting more than a month between the start of the expansion project and where they were now. Their routine had continued, though things seemed to change a little after the evening that Bucky had helped Danielle with the water heater. It wasn't a huge change but, he found he was a little more comfortable, stayed a few minutes longer, even helped her move a dresser in one of the guest bedrooms one evening, when it was too heavy for her to move by herself. Last Friday he'd helped her load up his truck with carafes of hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches she'd made as a treat for the crew. To say they were thankful for it would be an understatement, and it gave him a certain sense of pride knowing that he'd helped her with something that made both her and crew so happy.

Today Bucky stood to one side of the site, hand wiping at his brow as he surveyed the area in front of him. The land was largely clear, there was a little bit of grading left to do; but they were nearly ready to start the next phase of the project. To the right, the trees that had been cut down were stacked and waiting to be taken away, though Bucky had asked them to hold off on that this morning, an idea creeping into his head after a conversation with one of the men. Most of them were sort of taking a break just now… a rack on the back of one of the trucks had broken, the metal snapping off at one of the joints… a bad weld, they'd said. It was Friday and since the first week the foreman had been allowing them to pack up a little early, assuming the pace of their work was appropriate and they were staying on schedule. He'd even taken to consulting Bucky, grudgingly, this week and the last, since he was, in fact, handling scheduling and the project timeline (a great improvement in their relationship, Bucky thought, since the man had started out openly disliking him). The project management wasn't enough, in Bucky's mind, to make up a full time job, which is why he kept coming to the site every day, jumping in where he could, learning whatever they would teach him. It felt good… working with his hands, losing himself in the repetitive motions, or details of the work; being useful, learning skills that didn't involve weapons or have an outcome geared toward mayhem… it was a breath of fresh air. Whether he would allow himself to admit it or not, the quiet, domestic moments spent in Danielle's kitchen washing out his coffee mug and the pot, moving around her while she cooked, or even stopping to throw the ragged tennis ball that lived on the front porch with Ty for a few minutes had become a welcome part of his day to day. The physical labor here was soothing because it tired him out, gave him focus, purpose… the other was equally soothing, though he'd yet to allow himself to closely examine why.

"Hey Barnes!" One of the guys was waving him over, startling him out of his thoughts. They'd washed and cut a new section of steel to replace the broken part of the rack and were getting ready to weld it into place. "Come on… let's get you in on this… huh? Ever done any welding?"

"No…" He hadn't. He walked down next to the crewman who was speaking. The man, Greg, who Bucky had found he liked, was in his early fifties, blunt, but kind. He was propped against a pickup next to the truck they were working on, some of the equipment laid out next to him. Another man had already set up a portable MIG welding machine and they were clamping the new piece of steel into place.

"Alright… first time for everything…" Greg handed him a welding mask, it was lighter than Bucky expected and made of something… he wasn't sure what… some kind of Nylon he guessed, with a darkened screen covering the eyes. "Don't want you getting retina burn… even if you can probably heal from it… OSHA wouldn't approve…" Greg laughed a little and grabbed his own mask, pulling it onto his head, flipped up to allow him to see as they headed over to the welding machine. Bucky followed, situating his mask in the same way, turning his hat around backwards and pushing the mask down on top of it. Greg walked him through turning on the machine, explained about securing the clamps to a piece of metal, showed him how to start the actual arc up, and told him what to look for while he was working… something about a bead moving along in the weld… He was trying to listen, but something about the hum of the machine distracted him… sounded familiar in a way that made his blood turn cold. He found he was suddenly fighting to keep his breathing under control, to push through; but when Greg flipped his own mask down and Bucky reached up to do the same, he knew he'd made a mistake. He was plunged into low visibility, not darkness exactly, but it was enough of a change to amplify the sound of the machine. The welder started up, the arc glowing painfully bright even with the shield down, the faint smell of singed oil (residue that was missed when they'd washed the steal) filling his nostrils, the welding mask pressing against his temple and squeezing his head in a way that sent him tumbling into memories he'd been working hard to repress. He could feel his heart thudding wildly in his chest, and he reached out to steady himself, grasping a piece of the metal rack, away from where Greg (who was talking to Bucky, unable to see that anything was amiss) was welding. The feel of the slightly warm metal against his hand might have steadied him physically, but in his mind it only served to send him further into the visions that were now flowing rapidly behind his tightly shut eyes…

 _Bucky sat in the metal chair, stiff pads pressing into his legs and back, designed to keep him in position. Thick cuffs encircled his forearms and biceps, his thighs and calves, another around his neck forcing his head back into place. He could hear the machine starting up before the metal head piece was lowered down, putting pressure on his cheek and temple. The room was cold, bathed in low, blue-green light. He bit down on the mouth guard between his teeth, gritting them together, a whimper escaping his lips as he began to hyperventilate; the whirring gears in the metal arms of the machine filling his nose with the stench of burnt grease. He had only a moment more to think about it, to fear it, and then… the cold melted away in the wake of searing, white-hot light burning behind his eyes, through his brain, leaving only pain and heat, and eventually a mind-numbing nothingness in its wake._

He heard himself scream in frustration, ripping off the welding mask, his hat flying with it, and turning from the truck, his hands coming up to cover his face, his legs shaking. Greg shut down the machine, the arc fading into nothing, his mask flipping up as he looked over to several of the other men and then to Bucky. He was clearly confused, only having been working just a few minutes… He wondered if the man had injured himself but the shaking heads of his mates told him that wasn't the case, and that they didn't understand what was going on either.

"Barnes?" Greg started, staying where he was but speaking loudly, evenly. Bucky didn't respond, his upper body was heaving, hands clutching his head, his eyes squeezed shut. For a moment, it seemed like he would just stay that way. They were all frozen. And then Bucky dropped his hands and started walking, up the grade to where his truck was parked. He ignored the few calls that followed him, the bewildered face of the foreman as he passed. He didn't stop, didn't look around. He marched straight to the truck, climbed inside, and turned the key in the ignition. He had driven far enough down the road leading from the site to the front of the property that he could no longer see the equipment or trucks anymore when he realized his face was wet. He slowed the truck to a crawl and ripped the long sleeved shirt he was wearing off, leaving him in a white t-shirt as he used the other to wipe roughly at his face. He hated crying, he hated crying about this… He hated that it had cropped up, taking over his mind in a matter of seconds, taking a perfectly normal… even a good day into something dark, painful… He tried to swallow the lump in his throat down but his mouth was dry, his head throbbing. He just kept driving, his hands squeezing the steering wheel, flesh hand white knuckling the thing, metal hand bearing down until the wheel couldn't take anymore, cracking audibly under the force. That stopped him and he stopped the truck, throwing it into park so that the entire vehicle jerked to a halt.

"Fuck!" He hit the steering wheel, this time only with his flesh hand, and not hard enough to do any further damage… he was already going to have to explain the crack. He lowered his head, forehead resting against the leather covering of the wheel, hands coming up to cradle his head again, trying to squeeze away the images and the phantom pain that was searing through his brain.

Danielle walked out on the porch, looking at Ty who was facing the side of the house, poised, tail wagging. She saw immediately that he was looking at Bucky's truck, stopped half in the road along side of the house. She could see him in it, hunched over, and wondered what he was doing and at this time… it was only just after lunch. Even though they packed up early on Friday's she'd never seen them head out quite *this* early… Danielle stood there for a good five minutes before she determined something was really wrong, though the tightening in her stomach had told her that from the moment she'd seen him in the truck. Bucky hadn't moved in all that time, and though she felt a twinge of trepidation, she knew she had to go out there. Once she'd made the decision she was off the porch and moving swiftly, the wedged heels she wore crunching over grass and gravel… She'd been in the middle of getting ready. She was supposed to be meeting Gina in town. One of Gina's friends who Danielle had met a few times, and quite liked, was having a birthday party at a local restaurant and since Danielle hadn't left the farm much since moving here Gina insisted that she come. It wasn't really at the top of Danielle's to-do list, go to a birthday party with a crowd of people she didn't know, but, Gina hadn't quit going on about it and finally, she'd caved. They were supposed to meet a little earlier in the afternoon though, wander around the quaint downtown area, do some shopping and then hit up the party, so Danielle was already dressed and had just finished up her hair and makeup when she'd passed through the foyer and noticed Ty on the porch.

"Bucky?!" She threw open the truck door and peered in at him. Gasping, unintentionally, as he rounded on her, quickly, his eyes wide, hands clenched into fists; it made her want to take a step back, but she held her ground. She saw him deflate a little as his vision focused, eyes combing over her face, realization setting in.

The opening of the truck door startled him… he nearly lashed out. He felt it, in his muscles, in his clenched fists… He was still breathing too quickly, too shallow, his head still swimming. It took him longer than it should have to recognize her face, to fully realize just who'd opened the door… at least consciously. Subconsciously he must have known, his hands, ready to throttle whomever had surprised him had been stayed before he even knew what he was doing. It took him another moment to understand that he had stopped next to the house. He hadn't meant to and now he desperately wished he hadn't. He didn't want Danielle or anyone else to see him like this… afraid, unbalanced… He felt one of the muscles in his arm tick with the tension he was still holding and tried to focus on relaxing his shoulders some… he didn't want her to be scared of him either, if the sound of her heart beating was any indication, she already was. It made him feel sick and want to turn away, but he couldn't, his eyes felt glued to her face even though he wasn't really seeing her.

"Bucky?" She asked again, watching him. He didn't respond, only continued to stare at her with those wide, glassy eyes. Taking a deep breath, she reached into the truck, slowly, her hand passing in front of him and turning the keys in the ignition to off, pulling them out. "Come inside… okay?" She was trying to keep her voice calm, but now she was nervous and she knew he could hear it; she wondered absently if he could hear her heart pounding frantically too. Thankfully the navy dress she was wearing had pockets. She dropped the keys into one and reached her hands back out to him. He stared at her face and then dropped his gaze to her outstretched hands, looking back up to meet her eyes briefly before finally looking away. She could tell by the set of his shoulders, by the way he averted his eyes that he was embarrassed about something, but she didn't know what… He'd definitely been startled when she had opened the door, and something was obviously wrong but… she didn't have any clue what was going on or why he was so guarded and tense… She did know she wanted to get him inside, and get them both calmed down.

"I…" He murmured and then stopped, his hair falling down across his face. Danielle wondered where his hat was and noticed he was only in his undershirt, also unusual. She'd never seen him anything short sleeved. She wondered if something had happened down at the work site… she would worry about figuring that out in a bit though, for now, she needed him out of the truck.

"It's okay… come on…." She reached in again, one hand grasping the wrist of his metal arm. He jerked away from her, but not so hard that she couldn't hang on. She pulled back, just a little and he turned his head to look at her, something like disbelief written on his features. "It's okay…" She repeated, voice quiet, her other hand reaching in to gently rest on his knee, trying to turn him in the seat. He hesitated a moment and then let her guide him, stepping out of the truck with her hand still gripping the metal of his left arm. When he was standing she stepped forward, reaching around to shut the truck door behind him, the movement bringing her much too close for Bucky's comfort. She could feel him wanting to pull away, even if he didn't, and she put some space between them as soon as the door was shut, trying not to crowd him. Danielle wanted to say something, to try and break him out of this stupor, but she didn't know what to say so she let her hand fall from his wrist to his hand. She half expected him to pull back again but he didn't… "Bucky…" Not knowing what was going on made it difficult to figure out what to do, but the urge to comfort him was strong and her gut told her it was also correct… she always tried to listen to that… So she let her fingers entwine with his, the metal cool against her skin and after a moment when it was clear he wasn't going to react negatively, she gave his hand a squeeze and then turned, starting slowly back toward the house and breathing out a sigh of relief as he began to follow. When her feet hit the porch she glanced back at him, his eyes were still downcast, but now they were staring at their hands, his brow furrowed tightly. "Watch your step… Bucky…" She reminded him, turning once she had climbed up to grab his other hand in her free one, pulling him up the steps to the porch. Ty wasted no time greeting them, bumping up against Bucky's legs and nuzzling flesh his hand when Danielle dropped it to open the screen door and usher him inside.

"My boots…" She only just heard him and wouldn't have probably, over the sound of her own feet on the floor if he hadn't stopped abruptly in the foyer, the motion jerking her a little. It took her a minute to figure out what he was talking about; he was accustomed to taking off his shoes when he came in, he was worried about muddying up the floor. Despite how strange and awkward this situation was, she couldn't help but smile a little and she bit down on her lip to cover it up.

"It's ok… just… step out of them here. See, it's fine… " She kicked off her heels and pushed them to the side of the door, still holding his hand as he braced himself against the wall and stepped out of the work boots. "Good… come on…" She pulled him into the living room and sat him down on the couch, patting the cushion to one side, Ty taking the hint and jumping up. "I'll be right back…" She went into the kitchen then, glancing over her shoulder to see Bucky gently scratching Ty who was leaning against his right shoulder, his head still down, face still obscured by that curtain of dark hair. Danielle grabbed her phone, dropping it into her pocket before pouring them both a glass of water and walking back into the living room. She handed one to Bucky and set the other on the coffee table along with his keys, seating herself on his left side, Ty now comfortably laying against his right.

"Thank you…" He managed, taking the glass of water and drinking nearly half of it, savoring the cool liquid as it flowed over his parched mouth and throat, before setting it down. He hated this, so much. Hated that this was happening to him, hated that it was happening in front of Danielle. The nightmares had been few and far between for a while now, the memories faint and less obtrusive… he'd foolishly believed he was past this kind of intense, sudden disruption in his brain. It made him want to cry again, and to laugh, and hit something, all at once. That's why he didn't dare look at her. He didn't know what his face was like just now, didn't know what she might see… He was worried if he did that she might ask him what was wrong and he couldn't tell her… for a multitude of reasons. If he did, if he repeated this memory… she'd know how broken he was, know what they'd done to him, it would remind her of who he had been… of that he was sure. He was weak, letting something like a memory affect him this way… and he was afraid he'd see pity in her eyes if he explained that was what was causing this turmoil inside him now. The idea that she might look at him that way made his stomach churn, even worse, he didn't think he could bear watching that turn into fear or revulsion as she realized exactly what kind of monster he was… had been. Danielle didn't ask though. She just sat there, tucking her legs up beneath her on the couch, her shoulder leaning gently against his, knees brushing up against the side of his leg. At least his throat wasn't so dry anymore… his head was still pounding, but slowly, his breathing was deepening and evening out, he was counting his breaths, in and out, the way he'd been taught; his heart was hammering a little less harsh behind his sternum. Hers had slowed as well, he had heard it pick up when she'd opened the truck door, and now that he thought about it, he would have expected a much stronger reaction than that; it was difficult for him to fathom how she could be sitting so close to him, so effortlessly, so seemingly unafraid of him. He was afraid of himself, how could she not be?

"Just relax…" Danielle was speaking again and still he didn't turn to face her. He did let his head fall back against the couch, right hand combing through Ty's fur, the dog turning to rest his head on Bucky's thigh. He tried to push all thought from his mind, focus more on the rhythm of his breathing. Danielle, was moving slowly against his left side, threading her arm through his, her hand sliding down and entwining their fingers together again. Instinctively he wanted to jerk away but he fought it, stilling himself to try and reconcile the calming nature of her touch with the memory still lingering in his mind. Her other hand gripped his shoulder lightly, thumb rubbing small, soothing circles against it. He couldn't feel it the way he might have been able to were it on his right side, but still, it helped. As much as he typically avoided contact, right now, despite that he would never say, it was welcome. He blew out a long, deep breath and blinked his eyes a few times, going still after, quietly staring up at the ceiling.

Danielle wasn't sure how long they sat that way, fifteen minutes, maybe more. At some point she'd dropped her hand from his shoulder, letting it rest on his bicep, holding his arm against her side, the metal still cool to the touch. She had pulled their interlaced hands into her lap, resting them atop the skirt of her dress, her fingertips moving lightly over his knuckles. She didn't want to press him, and he obviously wasn't ready to talk. He had barely even looked at her, so she let him be. She kept having to push away her curiosity about what was going on, along with this urge to reach up and brush the hair away from his face, to run her fingers through it. It was something she'd always found calming and her instinct was to do the same for him but, she was honestly surprised he hadn't pulled his hand away, that he had allowed her to as much as she'd done. She forced the other thought out of her mind and tried to be still, tried to just be there, though she wasn't sure what exactly she could do for him or if she was even helping at all.

"I'm sorry…" His voice sounded rough and more emotional than she'd heard it, though the words were spoken at barely above a whisper.

"For what?" She asked earnestly. Something was wrong, he was having a moment, true, but she didn't think he had anything to be sorry for.

"For this…" He shrugged some, sitting up and looking much more put together, finally turning his eyes to her, really seeing her for the first time since she'd coaxed him out of the truck. He glanced down then, eyes moving over their hands clasped together and resting against her leg. It made the lump in his throat reappear. No one really touched this arm… this hand… everyone at the facility was careful of it… although that's because he made it clear he wasn't fond of the thing. He certainly tried not to touch anyone with it… it was useful, but for things… not people… this arm and people, that was a deadly combination. And save the incident at the sink last week, when he'd grabbed her wrist, he had been careful to keep it very much to himself, and under control… To see her gripping his hand, holding onto his arm as if it were any arm… He felt a little like he was drowning and shut his eyes against the sensation, blinking them open as he turned to look at Ty, clearing his throat after a moment. "I should go…"

"You don't need to do that… Please don't be embarrassed… " She kept her voice low, and he could tell she was trying to be careful, to be kind. "I have anxiety attacks sometimes…" She sounded a bit sheepish saying it, "I mean, I don't know if that's what...I don't know what's going on with you but… that's fine, I'm not asking you to tell me..." she added hastily, "I'm just saying… I understand being… overwhelmed…"

Bucky nodded, took a deep breath and turned his head to look at her again, his body a little as well, facing her more fully. "Ok…" He felt like he wanted to say more but his still befuddled brain couldn't come up with anything.. While he was searching for something appropriate he realized she looked different than usual. Her hair was down and curled, she was wearing makeup, and a dress. He let his eyes wander over her, best he could with her sitting, and in the least lecherous way he could, and then brought them back up to her face. "You're wearing a dress…"

"Yeah…" She shrugged and looked down, picking a nonexistent piece of lint from her shoulder. "I'm... " Danielle hesitated, "I was going to a birthday party, in town… thought I should try to look presentable… Although, I guess I should try a little harder to look presentable more… You usually have to see me looking like a bum, just rolled out of bed…" She babbled, cutting herself off, seeming to realize she was talking more than was necessary.

"You normally look fine…" He said it before he could stop himself and then was irritated for letting it slip. He wasn't sure that was the right thing to say, and with his mind still whirling from the memories of the chair, he wished he hadn't brought up the dress. He was sure he would end up saying something flat-out wrong, if he wasn't careful.

"Oh, thanks, I think… but, I know I'm pretty rough in the mornings when you get here… I guess I just thought… can't really show up to a birthday party in sweats…" She tried to smiled for him, shrugged again and picked up their entwined hands, bouncing them against her leg absently.

"That's as good a reason as any to get dolled up... but you don't need to um, worry about that, for me, I mean… in the mornings… it's fine." His face looked a little pained, like he was having trouble getting the words out so he gave her hand a squeeze and she was pretty sure it had surged right up her arm to her heart, making it flutter in a way she didn't understand. Maybe it was just because he never really spoke so casually, or was so… well, verbose (verbose at least by Bucky standards). Or maybe it was the way he'd said 'dolled up'... Bucky made a curious hmph, as if he'd realized something, pulling her attention up to his face, an eyebrow lifting in question. "You said was…"

It took her a moment to understand his meaning and then she nodded, "yeah… I'm just not sure I really want to go… I haven't been sure… I'll hardly know anyone there... " She chewed her lip a moment, trying to read his face. "You could come and keep me company…" She didn't really know why she'd said it, once it was out of her mouth, and felt an immediate flush against her cheeks. "I just mean… maybe it's a good opportunity to go out… or maybe you already do go out, sorry, I shouldn't assume…"

"That's probably not a good idea." He was looking at her hard, she could see the wheels turning in his head but couldn't tell what he was thinking. "You're going alone?" He looked suddenly quite serious, as if they weren't talking about a birthday party, but something much more severe than that.

"No, ah, Gina… friend of mine, is meeting me… We were gonna go walk around town and then head over to the restaurant for the party… It's her friend's birthday but, we've met a few times and she invited me so… I still don't know that many people up here. Thought maybe I should leave the house before everyone starts to think I'm some kind of spinster… but now... " She shrugged and the let the sentence hang. Bucky didn't respond so much as he gave another humph and leaned back against the couch again.

"I haven't… you aren't not going because..." He said, after a moment,his eyes focused up on the ceiling. He was worried he'd somehow derailed her plans, been more of a burden than he already was, taking up her time here on the couch.

"What? Oh… no. I have been arguing with Gina about it since last weekend… I caved finally and said I'd go but… I just don't really feel like it… would rather hang out here and watch a movie… wish I hadn't wasted an hour getting dressed…" She added, laughing dryly. "Hey!" Danielle sat up a little, her left hand still clutched in his, her right coming up to tap his shoulder gently. "Want to relax here for a little while? Watch a movie?" She felt the flush creeping back again as she asked but, she was a little worried about letting him go on his way. He seemed better than he had a little while ago, but she still was so clueless about what was going on with him that it concerned her some. She didn't want to keep him here if he wanted to go but, she wanted him to be safe as well.

"Um…" She saw his throat working, like he was swallowing or trying to get something out of his mouth that wouldn't come. Suddenly his arm went a little stiff and he sat back up again, seeming to remember their hands entwined together, glancing down at them and then at her, looking over her face as if he expected to see something there he didn't find. "What?" He looked dazed, stunned, and she realized he must have slipped back into his own head again.

"I um…" She hesitated, unsure of whether or not this was actually a good idea now, "just asked if you wanted to maybe hang out here and watch a movie…" She too became acutely aware that they were still holding hands. She knew they were but, the way he looked at her again, the way he stiffened his arm brought it to the forefront of her mind. She pretended like she'd forgotten, widening her eyes, "Oh… your hand, I'm sorry… I can let you go…" She should have just done it, rather than saying anything but, in an attempt to make things less awkward she was pretty sure she'd done the opposite.

"Ok…" He sat forward, gently pulling his hand from hers as she did the same. Danielle folded her hands in her lap and watched as he let his rest on his legs. He was quiet for a few, long, moments and then he spoke without looking at her. "I don't remember the last time I watched a movie… Steve has brought it up a few times but…"

She hadn't thought about that and felt a little bad. "You don't have to… I watch a lot of movies so…" She shrugged, trying to make it sound casual. "I was thinking about Guys and Dolls... the movie... Well, it's a musical movie, I guess… Sinatra is in it…" That got a bit of a reaction. He canted his head a little and glanced over at her.

"Frank Sinatra? The singer?" He obviously recognized the name. "I'll never smile again… I remember that song. I think… he was from Jersey." Bucky turned a little in his seat. "He sings in this movie? I think he made movies in the 40s too…"

Danielle nodded, smiling "Yeah… I think I'll Never Smile Again was his first number one… and he does. He plays one of the main characters… Nathan Detroit... It's one of my favorite movies…"

Bucky nodded, his eyes falling away from her, brow furrowing as the thought, trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. It wasn't a bad idea, watching a movie, but, he was starting to feel tired from all the mental strain of the earlier memories, and the now fading pain in his head. But then again, if he went back to the compound he'd have to talk to Steve about this… probably need to go talk to Dr. Jansen as well. That was fine, he expected it, but he wasn't quite ready to do that. Danielle didn't seem in any hurry to ask him to explain what was going on and a movie might be a nice distraction, help his mind from falling back into the rut that sometimes came after an episode like this. "Ok… if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't!" She tried not to react too strongly. This was definitely progress though, and she couldn't help but smile and feel another little flutter of excitement. "I'm going to get out of this dress though first… and maybe make some popcorn… That ok with you?"

Bucky nodded and then paused. "The coffee mug is still in the truck…"

"Ok… want to go grab it and bring it in?" She was already standing up from the couch, gesturing to his keys. "Do you mind letting Ty out with you? I'll be right back down…" This was a good chance to take a breather. All of the quiet sitting, confusion, awkward conversation, and his obvious turmoil had taken more of a toll on her than she'd realized. So when he nodded and gave the dog a pat she headed for the stairs, climbing them quickly and shutting her bedroom door gently behind her. When she was alone she blew out a deep breath of air and sat heavily on the bed. "What are you doing Danielle?" She hadn't realized the question had been bubbling in her mind, but it was a valid one. Now that she was removed from the situation a little, she realized she probably hadn't taken his initial surprise in the truck as seriously as she should have… There was a real chance he could have hurt her, and she guessed that he'd realized that too. She found it was much easier to feel bad for him when thinking of that, than it was to be frightened. She didn't want to be scared of him… she wasn't… and she didn't think it would do either of them any good anyway. Peeling off her dress she changed into a pair of black leggings and a thin, oversized grey top with sleeves that were a bit too long and a wide neckline that hung slightly off one shoulder. She took a moment to wipe off the bulk of her makeup as well, combing her fingers through her now loose curls and regarding her reflection in the mirror. She was more presentable than usual, even after losing the makeup, so that was a plus. Another moment spent sending an admittedly vague text to Gina about why she needed to bail on their plans and she was ready…

By the time she made it downstairs Bucky had pulled the truck around to the front of the house, like usual, and was washing his mug in the sink. Danielle, stopping for blankets on her way back down and dropping them at the couch, had come to a conclusion about just what it was she was doing… to answer her own question. She was doing what she had been… treating this man like everyone else, if maybe with a touch more consideration. So yeah, he'd reacted a little negatively when she'd surprised him...her fault, she wouldn't do that again, but she was glad she hadn't also reacted badly and she swore to herself that she wasn't going to. She hadn't missed the way he'd looked, several times, at her hand gripping his, and she knew that it had at least a little to do with the fact that it was the metal arm. She wouldn't be surprised to know there were still issues around that and as much as she resolved to never fear him, or to show him any kind of reaction that would indicate that she was afraid, she also wanted to make sure she never ignored the parts of him that made him different, like his arm. Maybe paying it too much attention wasn't the right way, but she would be damned if she shied away from it, or him, in any tangible way. She was going to make a more concerted effort not to just treat him as normal, but to try and get him to understand that he could feel that way about himself. It might not be possible, it might not be her place… but she was going to try anyway.

"Ty is still outside…" Bucky's voice drew her from her thoughts as she laid a couple of blankets out on the couch. She was definitely the hunker-down, bundle-up, all-day-on-the-couch movie type, so blankets were a must.

"Thank you… Do you like popcorn?" She asked, pulling a pan of jiffy pop from the pantry and lighting one of the burners on the stove. "I like this kind better than the one you microwave…"

Bucky finished rinsing the mug and set it in the drying rack before turning to watch as she placed the pan on the burner and began to shake it. Having a few minutes to himself, to move the truck, grab and wash the mug, had been good. It gave him a moment to reflect on what had happened and even though he was still left feeling exhausted and wary, he couldn't help but realize that he'd come down from this incident a lot more smoothly than those he'd dealt with in the past. He wasn't sure why… maybe it was just that he was slowly starting to move on, or maybe it was how he'd handled it… or been handled… Either way, it was a bit of a win. Bucky didn't like to get over optimistic about these things, but he didn't feel like there was any real concern about a relapse today, not that he ever really knew when it was going to happen in the first place, but he felt a certain sense of relief and surety that he could stay here for a bit longer, watch this movie, and then carry on, relatively unscathed. Besides… it was about time he saw a movie… moving pictures, they used to call them… He remembered going to see the news, early reels with information on the war… taking dames out with the money they'd scraped together, having to work hard to convince Steve to come along. It brought the ghost of a smile to his lips and he realized he'd been quiet a while, and that Danielle had asked him a question. She seemed to be used to this though, and hardly ever pestered him if he didn't answer right away… "I do like popcorn. At least, I remember liking it… It's been a while."

The popcorn was popping fervently now, Danielle shaking the pan quickly, hazarding a glance and a smile over her shoulder at him when he responded. "Good... " It didn't take long for it to be done and when it was she poured it into a large bowl before collecting their water glasses from earlier, hers still untouched, and pouring up Coca-Colas instead. "I don't think coke is half as popular up here but in Georgia… it's Coca-Cola all the way…" She'd said, before asking him to call Ty in and giving the dog a large, flavored chew toy. A few minutes after that she'd shut off all the lights in the living room and handed him the popcorn and some napkins, directing him to the couch. Bucky wasn't exactly sure where he was supposed to sit with the pile of blankets covering the sofa, so he just set the bowl on the coffee table and waited while Danielle brought the drinks and busied herself putting the DVD in the machine and getting the TV on the right input.

"Oh… sorry… I like to bundle up when I'm watching movies…" She smiled at him and moved a few of the blankets to the back of the couch, making room for him on one end as she sat down and pulled a soft grey throw over her lap. She slid a glass of coke over to his end of the coffee table and then set the large bowl of popcorn in between them before settling in and looking over at him. "Everything ok?" It was probably the first time she'd ever asked him that, or anything like it. But he was just standing there, staring at the DVD menu playing on the TV, his face distant. It took him a second to respond, but he nodded, brushed his hair back from his face and sat down, a foot or so between them.

"Um… Yeah… I'm ready…" He gestured to the TV and Danielle clicked play, letting the film start up as she reached for a handful of popcorn. Bucky took his cue from her and did the same, quietly munching on a couple of pieces as the film opened on a bustling New York, following a man through the streets until he came to rest near a couple of other men, in suits and hats; Nicely Nicely reading the race news from his paper started the first few lines of Fugue for Tinhorns, bringing smiles, to varying degrees, to both of their faces.

Danielle watched the movie but she also watched Bucky. He was focused forward on the screen, his eyes wide, and bright; his lips were curled up… not exactly in a smile, but much more relaxed than usual. He'd seen quite a bit of television since he'd come back but, that was mostly news, and it was different than sitting down to watch a movie. This movie also felt familiar to him… or to the part of him that recalled his life before the war. This was a colorful and dramatic picture of life several decades ago, but he found he enjoyed it, even managed to say so when he realized Danielle was watching him. She had the good grace to blush and look away but he turned to look at her, giving her a very small, but genuine, smile; one side of his mouth quirking up and making a grin bubble up onto Danielle's lips in return. "I like this…"

Danielle was pretty sure she'd never been more proud over a movie choice than she was in that moment. She had hoped he would enjoy it. She was finally able to relax a little more after that, and Bucky seemed to as well, leaning back and stretching his long legs out. About halfway through the movie she got up to clear away the bowl of popcorn and empty glasses, assuring Bucky she'd only be a minute and she'd seen it more times than she could count anyway. She just set it all on the island and dashed back into the living room, crawling back under the blanket and pulling her legs up onto the couch next to her, her feet brushing against the side of his leg. "Sorry…" She murmured, tucking her feet up a little more so that she didn't bump into him unnecessarily.

"For what?" Bucky glanced over at her, her head the only thing visible from beneath the blanket, and without giving it too much thought he reached down and placed his hand very lightly on top of her feet, pulling it back again into his lap after. It wasn't really a squeeze or a pat, it was something in between, but it made the lingering smile on Danielle's face widen all the same. Bucky put his feet up on the coffee table after that, sinking back into the couch some, and Danielle let her own stretch out a little more, allowing them to gently rest against the outside of his thigh. They watched the rest of the movie in relative silence, Ty's snores occasionally rising above the volume of the TV, and, much to her surprise, a time or two she heard something from Bucky that might have passed for a chuckle. It left her feeling very warm, and not at all from the throw wrapped around her.

By the time the credits rolled Danielle found her eyelids were getting heavy, a yawn parting her lips as she stretched a little and then sunk down further into the couch, pillows and blankets. "So what did you think?" She asked, glancing down at her phone to see that it was only a little past 5:00 pm. Bucky stretched his arms up over his head and shifted a little on the couch before dropping them down to cross over his stomach. His eyes were forward, watching the credits go by.

"I liked that a lot… And I like Sinatra… I remember liking him before… though I don't know much of his music besides the one song…" He glanced over at her, part of him wondering if there'd be any judgement based on that admission. He seemed to constantly be running into things… music, movies, pop culture, that people found shameful and astounding when he wasn't aware of them. Danielle was just looking at him as she usually did, something of a smile on her face, her eyes a bit heavy, sleepy.

"Mmmm me too. I'll play you some more of his stuff sometime… My dad is a big fan." She sat up some. "If I keep laying here I'm going to go to sleep… that's the trouble with movies and blankets…" She laughed a little and fought her way into a sitting position, pushing the throw down a little.

Bucky nodded, taking that as his cue to get going. "I should go…" He said simply, standing slowly, stretching a little more. "Thank you… for the movie… and…"

Danielle stood up as well, untangling herself and stepping away from the couch. "Of course… any time you want to… watch a movie or... " She didn't know how to finish that and though she knew he was hinting at what had happened earlier, she wasn't sure how to address that either.

"Ok…" He made a move as if he were going to turn away, head for the door, but he stopped. She could only see the side of his face, but it was enough to know he was deciding on something. "Sometimes I have these flashes of… memories…" His voice was so quiet that Danielle found herself straining a little to hear. "They aren't… they're not usually pleasant and… when they happen… it's like I'm... " He took a deep breath, his lips forming a thin line, brows furrowing some. "Like I'm living them, again… It doesn't happen a lot, anymore but… today…"

Danielle moved around the coffee table to his side and peered up at him, a rueful smile on her lips. "That's alright… You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to… and…" Now she was the one battling internally. This wasn't her business at all but, he was here, and she felt like she wanted him to understand that when she said everything was fine, she meant it. "Nothing you did today changes anything… mostly because you didn't do anything… Everything is fine..." She reached out and placed her hand against the front of his shoulder, causing him to jerk his head up and look at her. "Ok?" The look in his eyes was heartbreaking, Danielle felt for him. Whatever had been going on in that head of his, it must have been bad, and he was obviously ashamed but, she didn't want him to be. Since she'd pulled him from the truck he'd gone from confused to embarrassed, to distant and guarded, to strangely conversational before winding up nearly back where he started. He didn't respond immediately, just looked at her; those blue eyes full of pain and something else Danielle couldn't or wouldn't identify.

"I'm sorry…" He said, as if he hadn't heard her tell him it was all okay. That was too much for Danielle to bear.

"Hey!" She grabbed his arm again and without thinking about it too much, despite everything that had transpired, she turned him to face her and pulled him into a hug.

"What are you…" He didn't finish the sentence. She had slid her arms around his waist and stepped into him, her cheek resting against his chest. Excepting Steve, he couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged him. It made his chest tighten, the muscles in his arms and hands twitch with the knee-jerk reaction to either hug her back or move away. He didn't do either. He felt his heart rate drive up though and decided maybe it was time to just relax a little. Danielle had been touching him, in some way, nearly the entire time he'd been there this afternoon, and he was no worse for wear… so, finally, he gave in. Letting his arms drop down around her shoulders he squeezed her, but gently, afraid to press too hard.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for…" She finally spoke, once he'd settled his arms around her. "We're friends now, right?" The first part of her words were muffled against his shirt, the latter clear as she turned her face up, resting her chin against him. "So that's what I'm here for… coffee, hugs…" She squeezed him a little more tightly for a moment, "talking, listening, watching movies… or just sitting…"

Bucky nodded. He didn't think he could say anything just now. He wasn't sure he would know what to say if he could. Instead, he did the thing he could do even if he knew deep down he really shouldn't; he hugged her against him, her head tilting back down so that her cheek was against his chest again. He let his chin drop to rest against the top of her head, and blew out a breath of air he hadn't realized he was holding. He had forgotten just how soothing simple, human contact like this could be. He doubted he could expect much of it and while he was reminded of the moment in the truck when she had surprised him again, of the vivid memories of the chair that had helped shape him into instrument of destruction he'd been, and how he didn't really (when it came right down to it) deserve even a hug, he couldn't find it in himself to pull away immediately; he wanted to hold on to the feeling for as long as he felt that he could. So he did and then let his arms drop, stepping back. He moved around her to put his boots on and then open the screen door, pausing to give her another long look. "Thank you, for everything… Have a good weekend."

Danielle nodded, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling a distinct lack of warmth as he pulled out of the hug. She watched him and smiled, a little bit of laughter bubbling up on her lips, though she wasn't quite sure why. "You're welcome and thanks… I'll try… have a good weekend. I'll see you on Monday…" And then, like every day before, he was gone. Once he'd said goodbye, and even sometimes when he hadn't, that was it. He was out the door and at the truck. She watched him for a moment before turning away and heading into the kitchen to clean up the popcorn bowl and their glasses. She was halfway through rinsing them when she heard the door creak open and hurriedly sat them down in the sink and wiping her hands before rounding the corner to see Bucky standing in the archway between the living room and foyer.

"Do you ever lock that door?" He asked. When he'd come back up to the porch and it was still unlocked, only the screen closed, he'd decided to say something. It was getting darker earlier and something about that didn't sit right with him, especially if she was here alone.

"Well, yeah… at night…" She folded her arms over her chest and regarded him, deciding to change the subject. "Forget something?"

"Yes… No, not something. I… I had an idea." He said idea as if it were an obscenity or he wasn't allowed to have one. "We were talking this morning about the timber… the trees we felled… Greg said that he knew a man in Lacona that carved pieces of… furniture out of trees and also milled them into lumber…" Danielle sat down on the arm of the couch, watching him and listening. "And I was thinking, you said you were going to start repairing the barn…"

It felt like her butt had just touched the couch when he said that and she stood right back up, her eyes wide with sudden understanding. "Bucky… Are you going to say what I think you're going to say? Because if so… that is a brilliant idea... " He was looking at her as if she was behaving strangely, so she tried to tamp down her excitement and let him go on.

"I… I don't know but… I just thought, it wouldn't be original to the structure but… at least maybe you could use lumber from your own trees to make the repairs… Greg said this guy could do the milling and treat them… I asked him to get his information… I hope that's ok?"

"OK?! Of course it's ok!" SHe crossed the room to him and grabbed both his shoulders, shaking him very gently as she beamed up at him. "It's more than ok… that is perfect. Half of the reason I bought this place was because of the history… It's taken me months to get the repairs made in here because I've been trying to keep everything as original or close to as possible… I can't think of a better way to use those trees than to rebuild things here…"

He nodded at her, some of the strain draining out of his shoulders. Danielle realized he'd been worried about bringing this up… had he expected she wouldn't think it was a good idea? That couldn't be further from the truth. "Ok… good. I'll let you know what he says next week… I just didn't want to forget."

"Great… I was going to go over there next week and start getting a game plan together anyway… you should come, see if you get any more good ideas that I can take." She smiled, playfully, dropping her hands from his shoulders.

Bucky ducked his head some and nodded. He had wanted to come in and tell her before he completely forgot about it, but now that he was in here, he felt awkward. He'd already said goodbye once… he wanted to just turn and walk out but he knew that wasn't really acceptable. It wasn't going to be acceptable at all going forward… not when she had shown him so much understanding and kindness.

"Ok… Come here. One more." He didn't know what she meant until she reached for him again and pulled him into another quick hug. He very nearly laughed… so it was a little awkward for her too. That wasn't good, necessarily, but it was comforting, at least. He brought his arms up to return the hug and then they both stepped back. Quick, easy, familiar… not a big deal. "Goodnight…"

"Goodnight Danielle…" He stepped out onto the porch and glanced at her over his shoulder as he headed down the steps. "Lock the door…" She only laughed in response, but a moment later he heard the latch turn and allowed himself a little smirk as he climbed into the truck and pulled out of the drive.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hi guys! Thanks for sticking with me this far, I hope you're enjoying the story. This is a pretty quick little chapter… just hoping to set some things up that are coming. I hope you enjoy it and happy Friday! As always, feedback of any kind is appreciated. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Bucky woke the next morning, surprised to find the incident concerning the memory of the chair hadn't stuck with him like many of the others before. He hadn't had any nightmares that night, and he hadn't had any relapses. His mind had returned, pretty quickly, to something akin to stable and properly functioning. He had even found that it wasn't as hard to tell Steve about it, when it came time later Saturday morning. He'd caught him in the communal kitchen on their floor and they'd sat at a table by a wall of windows, drinking coffee and making small talk before Bucky dove in. He spent some time describing the incident… the memory, how it had been triggered, and how he'd come down from it sitting on Danielle's couch. Steve listened patiently, offering a few words here and there, until Bucky was done talking.

"Thanks for telling me Buck…" Steve was drumming his fingertips lightly on the table top, clearly thinking. "When this kind of thing has happened here… you… it takes you awhile to calm down… Doesn't seem like that was the case, yesterday…"

Bucky shrugged, "I think, maybe having fewer people around… and maybe, I don't know, no one was trying to force me to calm down or ask me to explain what was going on…" He shrugged his shoulders again. "Maybe it's just getting… better." He sounded hopeful but in a sad sort of way; he was always worried that the moment he got too optimistic something would go badly wrong.

"Maybe… Either way… I'm glad you told me and I'm glad you're ok. I mean, you seem really ok… considering." Steve wasn't lying when he said he was glad, the idea that his friend might actually be moving on, might be truly healing made him feel good, incredible really; and not just selfishly in that it meant he was really getting his best friend back, but for Bucky as well. He deserved to live his life unencumbered by the weight of his past, he deserved a lot more but this, at least, seemed attainable. "You going to talk to Dr. Jansen?"

Bucky nodded. "Yeah, but just at our regular appointment… It's a little… weird but, I don't really feel like this warrants a special meeting…" And that was the truth. Before, he'd felt like he needed to talk about it, as much as he hated to, pretty immediately. He needed the reassurance that things were fine, that he wasn't going crazy or slipping back under the control that had held his mind captive for so long… this time, however, he didn't feel that urge or that fear really. He'd been scared when it happened, and of it afterward, but for different reasons. Mostly because he didn't' want to accidentally hurt anyone, and, perhaps selfishly, because he feared they'd judge him… He was sure Dr. Jansen would have plenty to say about that… And he would tell her, he just wasn't going to call her up on a Saturday about it when they had an appointment schedule in just over a week.

Steve reached over and slapped him on the shoulder, grinning. "Good… So, when do I get to come see the progress on the fence? It's been a long time since I was able to come bother you at work..."

Bucky gave him a look that said it hadn't been so long he'd forgotten about what Steve was referencing, at least, not completely. "Whenever you want… I guess… won't be much to see until week after next… we're finishing up the foundation this week and then they'll be bringing in the concrete sections for the bottom…" Bucky spent some time explaining where they were to Steve, admitting he was a little bit frustrated that the project was so tightly on schedule… though part of that was on himself, as he was the one pushing deadlines and scheduling… but once they began installing the large concrete base of the fencing the next steps would mean building up from there and then running power and bringing the security tech online before demoing the old fence and completing the project. They were quickly approaching the point at which Bucky could no longer really justify being down on the ground… well he could be there, but once they rolled in the cranes and other machinery and began on the power and tech, he wasn't going to be able to be as hands on as he had been, and that left him feeling a little irritated.

After that they'd agreed to get Steve down soon, and Bucky hadn't been interested in delving into why he was feeling put off by the notion of wrapping up part of of this project, but still, it had been good to talk to Steve about everything… It helped make Bucky's weekend much better than he might have anticipated, considering what his Friday had been like. He was also less reluctant to face Monday and it turned out that any fears of judgement he'd had were unfounded anyway. The crew had barely mentioned anything and treated him no different than they had up to that point. Greg, the crewman he'd been working with on the welding had quietly asked him if everything was ok, but otherwise, they went on about the work as usual. He found it gave him a certain sense of confidence, a confidence that made the one thing that was different, easier to navigate...And that thing, well, it might have meant little to most people, but he wasn't most people and when Danielle greeted him that Monday morning with a hug, he was grateful for the boost that his ability to handle what had happened on Friday had given him. He had reconciled the contact from that day… she was trying to comfort him and be supportive and then after that, she'd been excited about his idea for the lumber. But when she hugged him before he left the house on Monday morning, and then again that evening, and the morning and evening after he found he didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't upsetting, in fact, he was glad for it, though he did his best to only respond minimally, and not to let on that he really enjoyed it. He was scared that the moment he did, the moment it was apparent this simple little act of friendship was important to him, made some difference in him, it would be taken away. For her part, Danielle kept the hugs brief, casual, and accompanied by her usual 'have a good day, or 'goodnight Bucky'. She had also started locking the door behind him in the evenings, which he found, strangely, warmed him nearly as much as the hugs did.

On Wednesday morning when he got to the house the front porch light was off and both the front door and screen were closed and latched. He immediately felt his heart rate go up, worry entering his mind. When his boots hit the porch he heard Ty on the other side of the door, walking back and forth in the foyer a moment before barking out a warning. Bucky had just begun debating the best way to break into the house when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and the door opened revealing a frazzled, exhausted looking Danielle; her toothbrush sticking out the side of her mouth, hand gripping the handle. She murmured something like "sorry" and opened the screen door to let him in before heading back up the stairs. Bucky let Ty out and pulled the screen behind him after kicking off his boots. He made his way into the kitchen and started making coffee. It didn't look like she'd even been down here yet, none of the lights were on, Ty's bowl was empty… He wondered if something was wrong, or maybe she'd just overslept. She usually only just looked awake when he arrived, unless she had something specific she was doing early, so maybe she'd just missed her alarm…

By the time Danielle came back downstairs Bucky had coffee on and the kettle as well. He'd even filled up Ty's food and water dish… he'd seen her do it plenty of times and the kibble had been easy enough to find in the pantry. Despite how tired she felt it brought a smile to her face as she rounded the corner, watching him plunk a tea bag into her favorite cup and fill it with boiling water from the kettle. "Thank you… Sorry about that…"

Bucky glanced up at her and nodded, making way for her as she came around the island and began adding milk to her tea, stirring it almost absently. "Everything alright?" He asked.

"Mmm? Yeah… there was a bit of a storm last night… Don't know why but, it kept me up… First one I've had here really… still not used to the way the house sounds, I guess…" She blushed a little, adding "I was afraid of storms when I was little… haven't quite gotten over it I guess." She was still stirring her tea, glancing up as Bucky nodded at her, vaguely, pouring coffee into the travel mug. "I'm not a morning person on the best of days so… the lack of sleep just… put me behind…"

"I hadn't noticed…" He intoned, one side of his mouth turning up into something of a smirk. Danielle had picked up the tea cup and was just turning it to her lips when he spoke. Was that a joke? Had he just made a joke? She was so preoccupied with that thought that she forgot to take her spoon out and was only reminded when she tipped the cup back and it smacked it against her nose.

"Ugh…" She scoffed and tossed the offending utensil in the sink before turning back and giving him a look of mock reproach. "Don't you have work to do?" She set the tea cup aside and stepped around the counter.

"Yes… Did you still want to meet at the barn?" He barely got the sentence out before she had opened her arms and stepped in to him. He settled his arms around her shoulders and expected her to step back after a moment, as she had the previous two days. She didn't though. She seemed to lean against him a little more, or maybe that was just his imagination, it was difficult to tell.

"Yes… at Noon..." She murmured the reply against his chest. Danielle knew she should let go but he was warm, and sturdy, and he smelled good, and she was really, really sleepy. It wouldn't have taken a whole lot for her actually drift off, save maybe that she was standing up. "Sorry…" She pulled herself away, hands wiping at her eyes as she did.

"It's ok…" Bucky regarded her a moment, lifting an eyebrow at her. "Want me to come make sure you're awake?"

"No! I'm not going back to bed…I'm fine…" She managed to contradict that statement with a deep yawn, that she nearly choked on as she heard a legitimate, if brief chuckle escape his lips. She found a silly grin slipping onto hers and she played it off by picking up her tea cup and taking a sip, waving him away with one hand. "I'll see you at Noon…"

Bucky tipped his coffee mug at her and headed back out the door, Ty trotting in as he left. Danielle watched a moment through the window before sitting down and finishing her tea… She realized she'd lingered a little too long in that hug and hoped it hadn't crossed the line in any way. Figuring out just how familiar to be with Bucky was difficult, especially after last Friday. She didn't want to scare him away but she didn't want to back peddle either… In any case, he hadn't seemed bothered and her brain wasn't in a great space to think about much at all. Maybe after some breakfast and a shower she'd be more awake. Finishing her cup she headed back into the kitchen, if she wanted that shower and to get anything done before noon, she needed to get a move on.

* * *

Bucky pulled up to the barn at 12:01. Danielle's truck was nowhere in sight and he couldn't see her anywhere either, though he could faintly hear some rustling coming from inside. It took him a moment to find her when he entered, his eyes having to adjust to the dim lighting. She was sitting up on the lofted storage area, legs dangling over the edge just above his head height. The ladder lay askew on the floor, the first two rungs broken and hanging at strange angles.

"Hi…" She called, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. There was a distinct tear in the left leg of her jeans that didn't look like it was put there for fashion.

"What happened?" He walked up to the loft, looking up at her, nodding his head over to the ladder.

"It might not have been as stable as I thought it was… It was fine going up but when I tried to come down…" She held her hands wide, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't seem upset, or hurt, so that was good, at least. Bucky sighed and held his arms up, fingers beckoning her to him. Danielle wasn't sure exactly what he wanted her to do. She scooted as far forward to the edge of the loft floor as she could, until his fingers were splayed on the outsides of her knees. She stopped then… was he going to catch her? That seemed… questionable, in her mind. "What do you…" She didn't finish, he cut her off.

"Jump, or slide… I'll catch you…" She hesitated and she could see him growing impatient so she took a deep breath and scooted forward, coming off of the ledge. Bucky was true to his word. His hands pressed against her legs and slid up until he had her at the waist. She planted her hands on his shoulders and he brought her down gently and securely until her feet touched the ground. "You couldn't have waited until I got here?" He didn't sound pleased or amused by the situation, in fact, he sounded almost mad.

Danielle felt rather like a child being scolded and ducked her head some. "I didn't expect to get stranded up there or I would have…" She let her hands slided down from his shoulders and realized he was still holding her by her waist when they naturally found their way to his forearms. He seemed to realize it too and stepped back, pushing his hands into his pockets, Danielle's arms falling to her sides.

"You should be more careful…" He glanced around and then walked over to the ladder, nudging it with his foot and inspecting it a moment before turning back to her. "You're not hurt?"

"I'm fine… caught my jeans on a piece of the top rung when it cracked but… I don't think it really cut me or anything…" She leaned over, inspecting her leg inside the opening in the denim. There was a faint red mark but nothing more. She could feel Bucky's eyes on her and was reluctant to meet his gaze, so she busied herself fixing her jeans and tugging at her shirt, though neither needed it.

"Well, you could have been…" He grumbled, walking back over to her, his arms folded across his chest.

Danielle ignored him, unable to think of how to reply, except to change the subject entirely. "I called the roofing company… they can be here next week… said if the weather stays good it'll only take a couple of days. After that… I can get started on replacing some of this siding… the doors will have to be completely rebuilt too…" She gestured as she spoke, walking a little to point out places in the back wall of the barn where the boards were bowed or cracking.

Bucky followed her, listening as he looked up at a few of the broken boards high in the wall. The structure itself was fine, the beams were in good condition, most of the siding as well. The few boards that needed to be replaced would be difficult to reach but otherwise unproblematic. The doors were probably the biggest challenge, and the loft… if the ladder was in bad condition, he wondered what the rest of it was like. Hit felt his stomach clench as he briefly imagined that Danielle might have walked onto a rotten board and fallen through the whole thing… "What about the loft?"

She regarded him a moment, leaning her back against the wall and turning to face him. "I guess it needs to come down, but I do like the idea of it for storage… maybe it can be rebuilt… I'm going to have to run power… there isn't any here, and I was thinking of putting in a washroom along the back wall, so it could go there… leave the rest of it open… will make the space easier to change up… multifunctional… if you will."

"Yeah… what if you enclose a space along the width of the back wall. Bathroom on one end and enclosed storage for the rest of the space… you can loft part of that to double your capacity… keep chairs and tables or...whatever you need…" He paused, looking at the end of the barn in question with his eyes squinted up just a little. "Depending on how many pieces you take down, or are in good enough condition… might be able to mix some of the original boards that you're replacing on the exterior in with the new to create the wall in here… We'll have to cut them down to get rid of the bowed sections and rot but…"

Danielle was with him, in fact, this was another fantastic idea. She liked the notion of concealing the storage, being able to add in a bathroom, and have a focal wall made up, potentially, of some of the original boards. It was the 'we' that got her. He said, 'we'll have to cut them down'. She felt her heart jump into her throat, a flush burning its way into her cheeks, inexplicably. Did that mean he was going to help? Did he want to help? She didn't know why that prospect should be so exciting but, it was.

"Danielle?" Bucky very rarely used her name, so hearing it jarred her from her thoughts and she snapped her head up to look at him. He had a strange look on his face and she realized he was thinking again that his idea hadn't gone over well.

"Sorry! I got lost imagining this…" She gestured her arms around her and smiled… "I think it's brilliant… once again…"Thank you... If you keep coming up with all these good ideas I'm going to have to steal you from the fence project…"

Bucky swallowed hard, pushing his hands deep into his pockets. "Yeah…" He glanced around, started to say something, and then looked down at the ground. "What about flooring?"

"What?" That had not been what Danielle expected to come out of his mouth… she didn't know what it was she had expected, but it wasn't a question about the floor. "Oh… um packed dirt I think… it's still a barn, I don't want to get rid of all of the charm… or the function, honestly. Can always concrete over it if it doesn't work out…"

He nodded, looking serious and unsure again. He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it promptly, hesitating before starting again. "I… In another week or so… I won't really be much use down at the site." He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling awkward in repeating this. "Once they start bringing in the heavy equipment and putting in the fence base… after that it's power and whatever tech stuff Stark has going into the security systems… I thought maybe I could help you… with this… or… if you want…" Why did he feel like a school boy, stuttering his way through some presentation in front of a class? This was horrible. Bucky doubted he'd ever have the same kind of confidence he'd had as a young man, before the war… but he was getting really tired of stammering his way through conversations, struggling to put together sentences without strange segues and too many pauses.

Danielle's eyes brightened and she focused them on his face, the earlier daze she'd seemed to be in gone. "Yeah… I mean, of course. I'm handy with a drill and a crowbar but… having some help would be much appreciated… besides, you're the one with all the good ideas…" She positively beamed at him and Bucky felt something like pride or satisfaction, he wasn't' sure which, well up in his chest.

"Good… Do you want to look at anything else here or? Did you walk? I can drive you back up to the house…" He pulled his keys from his pocket and glanced around.

"No…" She shook her head. "I think we've got a good direction to go in… and we can't get started until the roofing is finished anyhow… Thanks, I wouldn't mind a lift back."

When they'd climbed in the truck she found herself growing tired again, a yawn escaping her lips. Bucky glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and pulled out onto the gravel drive. "Um, Steve mentioned wanting to come by and see the work we've been doing… Would it be ok if he came with me in the morning, some day in the next week or so?"

Danielle yawned again and nodded. "Of course…" She leaned her head against the window, eyes fluttering sleepily. "He's welcome anytime…" The slow rocking motion of the truck as it trundled over the bumpy drive was lulling her to sleep and she found herself fighting not to nod off, despite the fact that the drive was quite short. She tried to focus her mind to help keep her awake. Immediately she thought of the man beside her, he was awfully talkative today… he had been, in a way, since last Friday. What was more was that it didn't really feel strained or unnatural… he still had a little trouble really getting his thoughts together, it seemed, but, he was actually talking to her… more than just yes or no, goodbye, or hello, or thanks… or his favorite… OK. It brought a smile to her lips that she didn't fight, she just let it rest there, enjoying the quiet, if short ride back to the house. Bucky pulled the truck to a stop out front, turning the key in the ignition and sliding out, grabbing the travel mug. Danielle was already out and heading up the porch steps, her exhaustion evident in her movements now, digging around in her pocket for her keys; it seemed her sleepless night was really catching up with her. "I locked the door…" She called, glancing at him over her shoulder, jangling the keys at him. Bucky nearly rolled his eyes, stomping up the steps behind her.

"Good…" He reached for the screen door, holding it open while she turned the key in the lock and then stepped inside. Ty greeted them in the foyer and he spent a moment scratching the dog and tossing his rope toy into the living room. Danielle kicked her shoes off and stepped around them, one hand briefly brushing against Bucky's upper arm, and then reaching down to give Ty a quick pet before she moved into the living room.

"I was thinking…" She began, stretching her arms up over her head as another yawn drew itself from her lips. "What are you doing on Sunday?" She sat heavily down on the couch, stretching her legs out across it.

Bucky stretched some too, "I don't know… I don't have any plans, I guess." That sounded strange to say. It was true, but it was almost too true… he never had plans, except for coming here and going to the gym with Steve… well, and the occasional therapy appointment but…

"Why don't you and Steve come over for lunch? You said he wanted to see how the project was going? That way you won't have to worry about trying to walk him around with all of the crew and equipment running… And, you get lunch."

Bucky rubbed at the back of his neck and nodded some. It was smart to bring him by when things weren't in full swing, but he wasn't sure how Steve would feel about the lunch invitation or if he had anything to do that might conflict with it. "Let me ask him…" He replied, turning to head into the kitchen and wash his mug. When he was done he peered over at Danielle who was moments away from sleep on the couch. She was staring, heavy lidded, off into the distance. He hated to disturb her but he also knew that he had to. "Hey…" His voice was quiet, hand reaching out as if to touch her shoulder but stopping, hovering in the air above her.

Danielle glanced up at the sound of his voice, smiling some. "Going back to it?" She stretched again. Bucky nodded and stuck the hand out to help her up. She took it, looking confused. "Why am I getting up?"

"Because I can't lock the door behind myself and as soon as I'm gone you're going to fall asleep…" He pulled her up gently, dropping his hand once she was on her feet.

"Mmm I guess…" She yawned again and followed him into the foyer, leaning against the front door. "Thank you… for rescuing me from the barn… and myself, a little…" She managed a tired laugh. Bucky shook his head, giving her a look that at first seemed stern, but she was sure had a humorous undertone. "Stay out of that loft, and lock the door…"

She reached out and he pulled his hands out of his pockets, waiting for the hug. Danielle stepped into him and gave him the same quick hug she had the past couple of days, "Yes sir, Sergeant Barnes…" She let that slip, teasing, her brain too tired to filter the remark before it left her lips. Bucky only shook his head in reply, a faint chuckle rumbling out of his chest. "See you in the morning." She gave him a smile and stepped back, watching him as he stepped out onto the porch.

"See you in the morning…"


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hello Everyone! I'm sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. Life has been busy and I was fortunate enough to find a wonderful Beta for this story. Well, I say find... she found me, really. I'll shout her if she's cool with it in the next post, but she knows who she is and I am every so thankful for her help. I'm also incredibly grateful for your follows and feedback, and as always, please don't hesitate to let me know what you think. I'm always looking to hear how you all respond to the story, so whether you love it or hate it, are happy with the direction or think it needs work, let me know. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.**

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Sunday rolled around sooner than Bucky would have liked. He'd almost been looking forward to lunch at Danielle's; walking Steve around the work-site, maybe even taking him up to the barn to get his input on the changes he'd suggested to Danielle. But then, on Friday, Danielle had asked if she might invite her friend Gina. Gina had been very busy as of late, and she and Danielle hadn't had much time to spend together and since Gina was the person who'd gotten Danielle the property to begin with keeping her updated on its progress was important to Danielle.

It shouldn't have been a problem… no, it wasn't a problem… it was just that she was an unknown variable. Bucky found, despite his attempts not to, he was worried about what this friend would think of him, how she would respond to him, how he would respond to her. Steve seemed to think the whole thing was a splendid idea though, and so at a little after 11, they found themselves loading up into Bucky's pickup, heading to Danielle's.

"You alright Buck?" Steve glanced at him from the passenger's seat. "I'm sure it will be fine… It's just lunch."

Sure, just lunch… Bucky had to force himself not to roll his eyes. Instead he nodded, focusing on the road and trying to calm his nerves. He didn't want his anxiety to spoil everything or everyone else's high spirits. He had twenty minutes or so to get himself under control and he intended to do that, so long as Steve would quit asking him if he was alright.

Bucky wasn't the only one affected by nerves though… Danielle was in a calm panic, as Gina dubbed it. She looked outwardly fine and stress-free, but was internally screaming and freaking out. Gina could tell, she'd been through college with Danielle… and they'd both seen each other during some crazy moments… Gina had come over earlier in the morning, the pair of them planning to cook together, give themselves some extra time to catch up. They were doing a full spread… Southern Sunday after church special… Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, homemade biscuits, pecan pie and Gina's Grandma Minnie's red velvet cake.

"How many cast iron skillets do you have woman?" Gina was looking between two of them, one slightly deeper than the other, wondering which one was needed.

"Probably too many, but, for today, just enough… The deep one G…" She pointed over her shoulder, pushing the oven-door closed with her foot as she peeked at the pie. "How much longer do these cake layers need to cool before we frost them?"

"Let me get this oil on for the chicken and then I'll do it…" Gina was busy setting up the pan on the stove top, both of them bustling around the kitchen.

The morning had been pleasant, they'd caught up, had a few laughs, and Gina had even spent some time regaling Danielle with tales of her new beau. He was an architect from the city but had moved out their way to work on some of the area's historic downtown with his firm. His name was Michael, and he was tall, dark, handsome, and perfect, by Gina's description. Danielle found herself listening, rapt, happy to see her friend in such a state of giddy pleasure, even if it meant they eventually found themselves having talked a little too long and were now running slightly late with lunch.

"Weren't you going to change?" Gina reminded.

"Oh… yes… be right back." Danielle had managed to do a little with her hair and throw on a touch of makeup, but she'd wanted to do the bulk of baking and cooking in something other than the clothes she planned for anyone to see her in. She had a tendency to make a mess in the kitchen. Changing didn't take long though and she quickly threw on a pair of dark wash, skinny jeans and a white sheer blouse over a white tank. Easy, comfortable, and several steps better than a sweatshirt and leggings. Gina, of course, hadn't needed to change… she never seemed to drop anything on herself or spill things… something Danielle had harangued her about on more than one occasion. Gina was wearing a pair of jeans as well, along with a mustard yellow top that contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. She was the picture of 'put together', making it seem effortless, something Danielle had always admired but found rather hard to achieve herself.

"Cake is frosted…" Gina sang, glancing up as Danielle rounded the corner. "Chicken is on too…"

"You're too good…" Danielle hopped over to the stove, pulling an apron around herself as she minded the chicken. This was really the last piece of the puzzle and a good thing too… judging by the clock, the boys would be here any time now, and she didn't want to make them wait too long for lunch.

"Dani… before they get here…" Gina was standing at the stove, looking down at the frying chicken, making an obvious attempt to be casual. "I know that... " She sighed, Danielle could see her shoulders rise and fall with it, before turning around. "I know you and Barnes have sort of become friends but… I just… I worry, ok. I don't want you to forget what you're dealing with here."

"I haven't…" Danielle didn't look up She was loading biscuits into a covered crock to keep them warm, pointedly not looking at Gina. "He isn't what you think Gina. He's a little lost, sometimes awkward but… he is kind and he's trying to put himself out there… please, just try to be understanding." She finished those last words with a look that met Gina's eyes, and the other woman nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

"I'm not going to embarrass you, if that's what you're worried about… or be mean or anything… I just…" She shrugged, hands coming up to her shoulders to say she didn't really know what. "Anyway… chicken is getting there…" She remarked, turning a piece over the in the pan.

"Thanks G…" Danielle pushed the door that led from the kitchen through to the small butler's pantry and into the formal dining room open with her foot, casting another glance over at her friend before disappearing through the door with the biscuits and a few other items. She had just finished arranging it all on the table when she heard the truck pull up, peering out the window to see it stop in its usual place. "They're here. " She called, wiping her hands nervously on her jeans before stepping out into the foyer.

Bucky climbed out of the truck, glancing up at the house. The front door was open, the screen closed and the forms of Ty and Danielle visible just inside. Bucky glanced over at Steve, who gave a nod and then started for the porch. They took the steps together, Bucky kicking off his shoes out of habit.

"No shoes in the house?" Steve intoned, behind him, following Bucky's lead.

"Um… usually they're muddy from being down at the site… habit, I guess." He admitted, opening the screen door without knocking, Ty bounding out to greet them both. "Hey boy…" Bucky bent over, scratching him behind the ears, trying to avoid going in for just another moment or two. He didn't have much choice though.

Danielle had stepped forward smiling brightly. She looked different today… her hair was down in loose, messy curls, and a flowy white top was moving around her as she walked toward them.

"Hey!" Danielle barely breathed the word out before she'd stepped forward and reached for Bucky as he straightened, pulling him into a hug that he reciprocated easily.

The pair of them were so focused on their greeting and nerves that they missed the look Steve was casting over them. He watched as Danielle stepped away from Bucky, her hands smoothing over the sides of his waist to tug playfully at the open halves of the dark red and blue plaid shirt he wore over the tee beneath it before turning her attention to Steve. "Good to see you again Capt…. Steve." She corrected herself and hesitated a moment before stepping up to him with her arms open as well.

Steve laughed a little, and leaned in to hug her, quickly and easily, a warm smile lighting up his face. "Same… Thank you for inviting me… and for lunch."

"Of course... " She smiled, stepping back and gesturing toward the kitchen. "Gina is in here, why don't you come through and meet her… Lunch is almost ready."

Bucky and Steve followed Danielle around through the living room and back into the kitchen, where a tall woman (five inches or so taller than Danielle), with mocha colored skin and tightly curled hair that she had swept back out of her face stood heaping fried chicken onto a platter. She looked rather elegant and as she lifted her eyes to Bucky, she also looked like she was having to do a little work to school her face into the polite smile that just appeared on it.

"Hello!" The woman wiped her hands on a towel and came around the island to greet them.

"This is Gina Moran… a good friend of mine, and the realtor who helped me get this place." She elbowed Gina gently and they smiled at each other. "Gina… this is Bucky and Steve…"

Gina smiled at both men, though something passed behind her eyes when she looked at Bucky. She shook their hands though, the polite smile maintaining its place on her lips through the interaction.

Once they were all acquainted Danielle ushered them into the living room and told them to sit while she and Gina finished setting the table and getting lunch ready. Both men offered their help but they both Gina and Danielle declined. Leaving Bucky to lead Steve back around the corner into the living room. He took a seat on one end of the couch, Ty hoping up beside him to lay across his lap, Steve reclining in the adjacent armchair that faced the kitchen.

"Looks like you guys are buddies…" Steve gestured to the large, black dog.

"Yeah… he's a good boy…" Bucky patted the dog's side and Ty looked up at him, panting, tail wagging at the comment.

They both laughed a little at the dog, happily stretched across Bucky's legs and settled momentarily into a comfortable silence. Steve glanced around, letting his eyes wander around the house a moment. It looked much as it had on his last visit, and remembered how much he liked the place. It was what Steve thought a house like this should be; the foyer opened up to a central staircase with the entrance to the dining room on the left, and the living room on the right. The kitchen was in the back of the house and there seemed to be a hallway or something beyond that… a garage, he suspected, though he wasn't sure. He let another moment pass, glancing over at Bucky and hesitating before opening his mouth to speak and then closing it promptly, as if he'd decided better of it.

"What?" Bucky fixed his gaze on the other man, trying to suss out exactly what he might have been going to say. He didn't have time to get it out of him though, Danielle came around and announced that lunch was ready and directed them to the formal dining room. Bucky detoured briefly into the kitchen to wash his hands, though it also afforded him a brief moment alone, to get his nerves under control again.

"Alright… dig in…" Danielle waved her hands at them when they were all seated in the dining room. Danielle and Gina sat on one long side of the table, Bucky and Steve across from them.

"This is… did you make all of this from scratch?" Steve gestured around, taking the plate of fried chicken from Bucky and taking a piece before passing it over to Gina, across from him.

"Of course…" Gina responded, glancing sideways at Danielle. "My Grandma would beat me, God rest her, if she found out we had people over for dinner and served them food we hadn't made…" Her eyes widened a touch as she said it. "She's probably up there criticizing my cake as it is…" Danielle and Gina both laughed, as if they were sharing some kind of inside joke.

"Cake?" Bucky murmured, glancing around the table.

"Yeah, Gina made her Grandma's red velvet cake… there's a pecan pie too. This time we can have it for dessert, not dinner…" Danielle shrugged, her lips twitching, threatening to turn up into a grin.

"Heh…" Bucky scoffed a little at the pie comment and took another look around the food laden table. "How many people were you planning to feed today?" He glanced up at Danielle and she could tell there was a hint of humor in his voice, even if it wasn't totally apparent to Gina, though she suspected Steve would pick up on it too. She'd made a habit of offering him food when he'd first started coming by, something he had often refused. Now, it was something of a joke, though that hadn't stopped Danielle from trying.

"He's never been to the South, has he?" Gina asked Danielle, the polite mask from earlier slipping, just a little, into something more genuine. "We over-feed everyone… all the time... If this were my Grandma's house you could count on leaving with something too."

"I don't know, have you Bucky?" Danielle quipped, glancing up to see Steve grinning slightly and Bucky looking mock annoyed. "He should be used to it anyway, I'm always trying to feed him."

"All the time…" He grumbled, though there was a slight upward curve to his mouth. "And no… not really… Not unless you count the south of Brooklyn. I used to work at the docks down there…" He'd let that little piece of information slip before he could stop himself and for a moment he was fearful he'd said too much, or opened a door to a conversation about his past he didn't want to have right now. He saw immediately that the fear was unfounded, and he garnered only a sidelong glance from Steve;Gina and Danielle hardly reacting except to laugh a little and give him an understanding nod.

Fortunately, that was possibly the most awkward part of the lunch; and that was so minimal that even Bucky found himself able to focus on enjoying the food and making some (very little by everyone else's standards but a fair amount by his) conversation. By the time they'd finished eating some of the tension that at least three of them had been feeling was seeping away, replaced by the pleasant fullness they all felt as they lounged around the dinner table.

"I think I'll have to wait before I eat any pie or cake…" Danielle glanced up to see Bucky looking her way and she gave him a smile before standing, stretching her arms up a little as she did. "But if you guys…"

They didn't allow her to finish her sentence. Both Bucky and Steve waived her off and Bucky stood up to help her start gathering the platters and plates from the table.

"What are you doing?" Danielle reached out to try and stop him, it didn't work.

"Cleaning up…" He figured she'd protest this but he just planned to ignore her. "Give me that…" He took the small pile from her hands, Steve standing up next to him.

"Buck's right… let us clean up…" Steve began taking up dishes and silverware as well.

"No… you are guests…" Danielle tried to protest but the men didn't stop, even when Gina joined in. After a brief 'discussion' on the topic they agreed that Bucky and Steve would clear away and wash the dishes and Gina and Danielle would put up the leftovers and clean the dining table. "Stubborn…" Danielle had murmured as the two men went through the door into the Butler's pantry and through to the kitchen.

Bucky paused, having heard the remark and fixed her with a look that distinctly said he thought of the two of them, he was less stubborn than she was. Danielle rolled her eyes at him playfully and got on with her task.

With the four of them working it didn't take long at all to get everything cleaned up and put away… Danielle and Gina had even gone out to sit on the porch swing, relaxing a moment, while Steve and Bucky finished washing up. It didn't take them long, and soon they, Ty on their heels, were out on the porch too.

"Thought we'd go down to the site now...Did you want to come?" Bucky spoke as he stepped up next to Danielle on the swing, gently touching her shoulder to get her was only polite to ask, though he wasn't sure if they'd care or not. Danielle had been down there on and off and he assumed Gina would be interested, but he wasn't sure.

"Yeah… G?" Danielle turned to her friend, standing up and stepping inside to slip her feet into a pair of sneakers waiting just inside the door.

Gina got up and slipped her own shoes on, nodding, and a few moments later the two women were climbing into the backseat of the truck, Bucky turning the truck down the road toward the construction.

Bucky pulled the truck to a stop just outside of the treeline. Before them the site looked cluttered and busy, even with no one actively working at it. The foundation for the fencing had been poured, marking a gently curving line where it began at one point in the existing fence and moved out and back into a point further down. The concrete base sections had been affixed to the foundation, at least a quarter of the way down the length of the extension, the rest of them lined up in the distance, waiting to be must have been at least fifteen foot tall by another fifteen foot or so wide and similarly long, and they had ladder-like structures formed into one side. It was both a daunting and impressive sight, heavy machinery and equipment littering the ground around the fence. Danielle peered down at it from the bluff, wide-eyed. Every time she came here it shocked her how much progress had been made since her previous visit… Now it seemed like they were picking up even more speed.

"Wasn't all this wooded before?" Gina stepped out of the truck and up next to Danielle. "What happened to all of the timber?"

Danielle smiled proudly and glanced over at Bucky. "It's in Lacona being milled into lumber… it'll be treated after that and then we'll use to repair the barn and fences and… whatever else needs repairing… Bucky's idea… not mine."

"Nice…" Gina, who hadn't been expecting to hear that turned, giving Danielle and Bucky an approving nod. "So… can we have a little tour?" She had already started down the faint grade that led to the flat area where the fence was under construction.

Danielle, Steve, and Bucky followed. Bucky seemed hesitant to speak much at first, but Steve began asking him questions and pointing out things in a way that eased Bucky into the conversation. By the time they'd reached the large concrete fence sections he was talking them through the remaining timeline with some measure of confidence.

Steve was looking up at the large concrete form, and he glanced over at Bucky, gesturing with his hand to the flat top of the thing. "I'm gonna go up and take a look..."

Bucky shrugged, it was definitely sturdy enough, and Steve wouldn't have a problem scaling it. The crews had been working all along the top of the sections as they were secured onto the foundations. "Go ahead…" Bucky stepped back and watched as Steve moved up to the side where the handholds had been formed into it.

Steve glanced over his shoulder at Gina and Danielle. "Want to come up and have a look?"

"Yes!" Gina answered immediately, stepping forward and beginning her ascent up the base.

Danielle, glancing at Bucky first, finally nodded yes as well. The barn loft incident had left something of a bad taste in her mouth for heights, though she likely wouldn't admit it. She'd never been particularly scared of heights but, just now she wasn't entirely convinced she should be climbing the side of a large piece of concrete just to… what? Get a slightly better view of a construction area she could see perfectly well from the ground? She didn't want to be a spoil sport though so she followed behind Gina who was nearly halfway up now.

Steve, having made the climb effortlessly knelt down and extended a hand to Gina whose long limbs also made easy work of the climb. When she was just at the top, Steve took her hand and helped her the rest of the way, kneeling back down to offer the same assistance to Danielle.

"You don't have to…" Bucky's voice came out soft, barely above a whisper.

Turning to glance over her shoulder, Danielle found he was much closer than she expected. She could feel his breath against her cheek as he exhaled. Somehow it was comforting and after a moment, she gave him a nod and the best smile she could muster.

"I know… Are you coming up?" She asked, stepping up to the side of the thing and glancing up at the ladder molded into it.

"I'm right behind you…" He assured her.

That was good enough for Danielle, and she stepped forward, pulling herself up to the first hand-hold and placing her feet before moving up to the next, and the next. True to his word, he was right behind her, hands hovering just either side of her until she had moved above his head; not touching, but there, just in case. Once she had cleared a few feet he pulled himself up as well, moving patiently behind her as she made her way to the top.

Danielle's shorter arms and legs meant a more troublesome ascent, but she got there without much fuss and Steve helped her the last few feet. Once she was over the edge, Bucky quickened his pace and crested the top easily, taking Steve's offered hand as he did. Glancing around once his boots were on the solid, flat surface he found Danielle was standing toward the center of the platform. Gina having walked to the far end was followed by Steve who beckoned Danielle and Bucky to join them. Danielle waived him off and he began the 'tour', pointing toward the faint outline of buildings in the distance and beginning to talk Gina through what he understood would happen with the compound once the fence was complete.

"You ok?" Bucky asked, stepping up next to Danielle was standing still, a good five feet or more from the edge.

"Yeah… I'm ok. This is a bit higher than the loft in the barn…" She quipped, her eyes moving over the treeline and expanse of land on the other side. "Part of me wants to look over the edge… part of me doesn't…" She laughed a little, at herself, and tip-toed forward some. She stayed there for a few minutes, Bucky moving up behind her, before he spoke again, Danielle's eyes flicking up to him as he did.

"Go ahead, if you want to… I won't let you fall." He grumbled, a little.

Danielle couldn't tell why he sounded so...serious. Well, she was glad he was serious about not letting her fall, but there was something else… annoyance? No, that didn't seem quite right. She couldn't place it and she decided since she couldn't, she would let it go, moving forward instead to the edge of the concrete and peering slowly over it to look down. Just as she thought she could feel gravity luring her further out and over, that strange dizzying sensation one gets when leaning over the edge of any height, she felt something else - Bucky's hands lightly pressing against her sides. He wasn't holding on to her, per se, but he was there, as promised, in case. It definitely made her feel better but after another moment even that wasn't enough to keep her so close to the edge.

She took a step back, right into the man behind her, her shoulders bumping into his chest. His hands came up to her arms, momentarily, to steady her. Glancing up and over her shoulder, her mouth opening to apologize for running into him, she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips, the humor it conveyed evident in his tone of voice when he remarked. "Have enough?"

"More than…" Danielle reached a hand back and swatted at his side, playfully. Bucky stepped to the side, moving away from her a little to avoid being hit… He started to say something but then noticed her look over at the ladder that led down from the top. "I think I'm going to head down… time to have my feet back on the ground."

Bucky nodded and walked with her over to the opposite edge. Neither of them noticed that Steve and Gina had paused their conversation, watching the exchange with interest, though they were also quick to pick it back up, pretending to be engaged in chatting about the view lest they get caught staring at the interaction.

"Let me go down first…" Bucky stepped around Danielle and turned so that his back was to the edge of the concrete, dropping his feet over the side and descending a couple of steps down the ladder. With his metal hand gripping the handhold, he used the other to beckon Danielle over the edge.

Steve and Gina had made their way to them by then and Steve took her hands to steady her as she got her feet down on the first step. Just as he had on their ascent, Bucky didn't move down until she did, watching her to make sure she wasn't having any trouble. When he was three-quarters of the way to the bottom he dropped to the ground, landing easily on his feet, and stepped up to the base of the ladder.

Danielle was making her way down just fine, on her own, and in retrospect, he wasn't quite sure why he did it but… When her waist was just above his head Bucky reached out, gripping her hips and turning her in the air to face him as he pulled her away from the ladder and lowered her down.

Much as she had earlier in the week, she planted her hands on his shoulders and let him guide her to the ground, murmuring "Deja vu…" as her face leveled with his a moment before her feet touched down. She found her cheeks were suddenly a little hot and she wasn't quite sure why, blaming it on the exertion of the climb and descent. "Thank you…" She added, and though Danielle hadn't exactly been prepared for him to pluck her off of the ladder, she was kind of glad he had, sparing her from having to climb down the last few feet.

Bucky smirked a little at her comment and pulled his hands away from her waist, one of them sliding up to her shoulder to guide her away from the side of the fence to make room for Gina, who Steve had just helped over the side, to climb down.

Steve followed and soon they were wandering the rest of the site, investigating the machinery and discussing what they knew about the compound's expansion on the other side of the fence. A half hour after that saw them climbing back into the truck and heading back to the house, Steve hinting that he might be ready for some cake now that they'd walked off some of their meal.

Gina and Danielle were happy to oblige and they settled on the back porch with slices of cake for themselves, and a small slice each of pie and cake for Bucky and Steve. Danielle thought it was nice, actually, and much less stressful than she'd expected, having everyone here. They were quietly talking and eating, letting the breeze blow in through the open screen door, enjoying the afternoon warmth.

"Oh! Dani!" Gina picked her head up, her eyes a touch wide as if she'd just remembered something. "I completely forgot… remember the text I sent you about the summer music concert, festival thing in town in a couple of weeks? A member of the Chamber of Commerce that I have a good relationship with is going to be there and she… um, Darla Anderson, she is a long time member and they help to put on a lot of the local festivals and things… anyway, she and I have been working on a project downtown and I mentioned to her that you and I were friends…" Gina was waving her fork in the air as she spoke, using it to indicate herself and this Darla she kept mentioning. "And that this place was coming along really nicely… she wanted to see about talking with you because they are looking for a place to have the annual fall festival…"

"Wait… what? Really?" Danielle set her empty plate and fork down on the ground by her, using one foot to gently push Ty away when he came sniffing to see if there were any leftovers for him. "When is it? I mean… What does that entail? I…" She was sort of stunned. This was essentially what she'd wanted to do from the get-go… get the property up and running and use it to help support the community with events like this, build something that was part of the surrounding area out of it… but they hadn't even really started on the barn yet and the paddocks were still mostly overgrown, the fences in poor condition…

Gina chuckled a little and shook her head. "Take a breath… in late October, so you have time and it's just a conversation… You said you might come to the festival anyway so… just let me put you in touch with her and you two can have a chat while you're there… informal… yeah?" Gina gave her a reassuring smile and Danielle nodded.

Danielle was thinking that Gina was right, that she would go and make the most of this opportunity. They had a couple of months before the end of October… certainly she could get something ready in time…

Gina watched her a moment before casting a glance over Steve and Bucky and continuing "In fact… you two should come… it's a lot of fun… they have a bunch of different bands, a dance floor, food and drink vendors… artists…" She was waving her fork again as she listed everything off.

Both Bucky and Steve seemed confused for a moment, exchanging glances that said they weren't quite sure what exactly was going on. Steve seemed to catch up pretty quickly and spoke, looking over at Gina "That sounds like fun. Wouldn't hurt to get out and about a little… what do you say, Buck?" He glanced over at Bucky who was sitting quietly, one hand scratching at Ty's ears, the other holding his empty plate in his lap, his eyes fixed on Danielle until Steve addressed him.

"Um, maybe…" He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "When is it?"

Danielle turned to look at him, offering up a small smile. "Friday after next, right Gina?" She picked up her plate, standing up and reached out for Bucky's. He didn't give it to her, but he stood up too.

"Yeah… it starts then… goes all weekend. Some of the better music is Friday night though and that's when Darla will be there…" Gina said, passing her plate to Danielle when she reached for it. Danielle took Steve's as well.

"Ok… Count me in, I guess… I'm going to put these in the sink. Anyone need anything?" Danielle propped the door to the house open with her foot, Bucky stepping up behind her and taking it, holding it open.

"No, thank you though… we should probably get going soon…" Steve glanced at Bucky, who nodded in return and followed Danielle into the house a moment later.

Steve and Gina remained silent until well after the door had closed behind their friends. When Steve finally hazarded a glance up at Gina, she had her lips pursed, as if she were thinking through something important, something she wanted to say.

"So, Steve…" She began, drawing a hesitant breath. "What did you think of this? Today?"

"Of what? Lunch? Lunch was delicious… your cake as well…" He smiled at her and then it fell a little. "I guess that's not what you mean though…"

Gina nodded, sitting back in her chair some. Steve Rogers was just about as nice a person as she'd ever met, and she hated to bring any of this up to him; it was clear that he cared about his friend. He was so polite, and she didn't know him well enough to really try to have this conversation, but she did know Danielle, and she cared about her too. So, it had to be done. "No… it isn't."

"Bucky would never do anything to hurt Danielle…" Steve sighed as he spoke, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "He is a little awkward, I know… and guarded. I know he's hard to read, hard to… know… but please believe me when I say he's a good man."

"I know, and I know he's your friend…" Gina almost didn't want to go on. The look in Steve's eyes was a terrible mixture of sadness, regret, and hope. He believed in Bucky more than Gina suspected Bucky believed in himself. That was reassuring somehow, though it didn't quell all of her fears about the man. It wasn't really even that Gina believed he'd physically harm Danielle, at least, that wasn't at the top of her list of concerns anymore. After seeing them interact today, Bucky seemed to be pretty attached to Danielle, and vice versa. Gina just wasn't convinced that this was a man who could be relied on in any way that supported the kind of budding relationship that was evidently building between him and Danielle.

"And I know she's yours… I understand your concern, I do…" Steve sat up, holding his hands out, palms up, toward Gina. "He's comfortable here… feels like he's helpful, like he's worth something… and Danielle treats him just like anyone else… she's better at it than I am, sometimes." He admitted, reluctantly. "We all have a tendency to want to… coddle him… make sure he's ok but, he is. And what has helped him more than anything is being around people who don't treat him like he's broken… damaged goods… I don't think Danielle sees him that way and, if you could see the difference it's made…"

"Ok…" Gina interrupted him, nodding, She understood and truthfully, she didn't have the heart to press the matter. Hearing him speak about Bucky gave her some pause, made her think about the man in a way she hadn't considered and she realized she may have been a little quick to judge. She wasn't completely convinced, still, but it was a start. And, the man had been nothing but nice to her today, and he obviously was kind to Danielle… That went a long way.

"Yeah…" Steve nodded and then paused, a strange look momentarily cast over his features. "It was a little… um… personal… their… them, on top of the fence? Earlier?" Despite the fact that he wasn't speaking about himself, or Gina he still felt a little second hand embarrassment by bringing up this topic, and it showed.

"Oh. Yeah." Gina laughed a little. She and Steve had both stopped to watch the pair earlier but they hadn't done more than exchange a quick glance about it. It was definitely more intimate and physical than Gina had expected. Even if it was just a little help climbing up or down, there was something very specific about the way Bucky touched Danielle and, whether Danielle knew it or not, the way she reacted. "Has he said anything to you about her… like that?"

"No...no" Steve shook his head, a little bit of a smile coming back to his face. "He wouldn't… Maybe I'll ask him... " He grinned. He was thinking just how much seeing Bucky interact with Danielle reminded him of the way he'd been back before the war. Pre-war Bucky had a knack for sweeping women off their feet and Steve was pretty sure that was a skill that had to be like riding a bike… it might have been buried, Bucky might have tried to suppress it, but it was definitely there.

Gina smiled at him and thought she might just have a chat with Danielle as well. But she didn't say that and neither of them seemed interested in continuing on with the topic, so they fell into easy conversation about other things, chatting idly as Bucky and Danielle moved around inside.

Bucky was glad that Steve and Gina didn't immediately come in behind them, the familiarity of moving around the kitchen with just Danielle was soothing. Not that today had been bad… he'd been worried about Gina, and as it turned out, while she was a little hesitant at first, she'd been more or less fine and pretty easy to speak to. She didn't seem to mind him as much as he'd expected… at least she put up a good front if she did. Still though, his nerves had been a little frayed with the anticipation and standing at the sink, washing dishes while Danielle dried and put them away gave him a few minutes of much needed calm.

He realized, as he scrubbed at one of the plates, that it was strange that this, of all things, was so soothing to him… Physical labor helped, he'd known that for a while, and even mentally taxing tasks could ease his mind. Those things made sense… when he was tired he found it easier to relax. But this sort of domestic routine that he had going here… making coffee, washing dishes… he found he looked forward as much to that as anything each day. He made a mental note to mention it to Dr. Jansen, see if she had any insight… though a small part of Bucky's brain, one that caused him to glance over at the woman beside him, who was dutifully drying off silverware, said that she might have something to do with it… He brushed that thought aside quickly and chalked it up, for the time being, to just having a few moments of quiet, with a thoughtless, repetitive task that allowed him some time to himself. That was probably it… even when he was alone in his quarters at the compound he seemed to be able to feel the hustle and bustle of the place around him… the only time he didn't was late in the night, and even that was just occasional. There was always someone moving around, something going on… here, things were soft, peaceful, reassuring.

Bucky felt something bump against his arm and he looked down to see Danielle, her shoulder leaned against him, holding her hand out for the plate he'd been washing, unnecessarily, for the last few minutes.

"I appreciate you cleaning that, but I'd prefer not to have a hole scrubbed into it…" She laughed a little, her eyes sparkling, mouth turning up in a wide smile.

He handed her the plate and shook his head some, "Sorry… just, thinking…"

Danielle dried the plate off and her hands as well, passing the dish towel to Bucky. "That's ok... " She stepped behind him, bringing her hands up to his arms to squeeze them gently as she passed to the other side of him and poured herself a glass of tea. "Anything you want to talk about?"

He shook his head again and turned to lean back against the counter, hanging the towel up and crossing his arms over his chest. He looked like he was about to say something despite the head shake, when the back door opened and they heard Steve and Gina, who seemed to be arguing about baseball, step into the house, Ty hot on their heels. "Alright… I'm just saying… you live in New York now… it's either the Yankees or the Mets…" Steve was explaining, rather emphatically.

"Or, I could just admire the Braves from afar…" Gina retorted, "Besides, I will not ever be a Yankees fan… it's against my religion… Right Dani?" She asked, both of them coming around the corner into the kitchen.

Danielle nodded, "Right… they'd disown us back home…" She confirmed, laughing a little and taking a sip from her glass.

"See... " Gina held up her hands to mimic her words, and Steve, smiling some, nodded and put his own up in a gesture of surrender.

"Alright, I give up… you can root for whomever you like… even if they aren't the greatest baseball team in the nation…" Steve was obviously enjoying this but he glanced up at the clock on the far wall and turned to Bucky, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Come on Buck, you ready to head back? I think we've imposed enough for one day…"

Bucky cast a quick glance at Danielle and then nodded, standing up straight from his position against the counter and starting for the front door. "Thank you, for lunch… and the cake…" The last he directed at Gina, with something like a very small smile on his lips.

"You are so welcome… and I hope I'll see both of y'all at the music festival… Oh, cake… right " She remembered something again and stepped over to the counter where she and Danielle had set out a quarter of the cake and pie, wrapped and ready to be taken with them. "Here… we can't let you leave without anything…"

"You don't have to do that…" Steve said it, but he seemed all too happy to take both items from her hands. "We appreciate it… we'll have to hide this from the others…" They all laughed a little and began to make their way to the foyer. "Thanks again for having us… lunch was great... " Steve reached out to give Danielle a one armed hug, pulling her against his side. She squeezed him quickly and stepped away as he turned to Gina, offering her a hand, which she accepted with a smile. "It was nice to meet you… And maybe we will see you at the concert…"

Gina nodded and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, "Nice to meet you too, Steve… I hope you do…Michael would just love to meet you… And you Bucky. It was nice to meet you…" She held out her hand to him and he took it, shaking it and nodding his head some.

"Nice to meet you…" He spoke the words clearly and evenly, Danielle noticed, without almost any hesitation. "Thanks again…"

Danielle could see Bucky shift a little as he glanced over at her. They were supposed to hug, that was the routine now, but he looked suddenly self-conscious about initiating it, in present company. It was becoming so evident to her now when he was uncomfortable, or unsure of what to do… she was glad she could read him, at least on that front, it made it easier to help… to step in and take the burden of deciding on what was appropriate or not, what he should do, off of him.

"You're welcome… see you in the morning." Danielle stepped around Gina and pulled Bucky into a hug. She felt him blow out a breath, seemingly relieved, as he returned it, squeezing her a little tighter than normal, she thought.

"Yeah… see you in the morning." He stepped back and opened the door, pointedly ignoring the look that Steve was giving him, and reached down to give Ty a quick pat before following Steve out the door. They all gave a final wave, Gina and Danielle from the front porch, Steve and Bucky as they climbed in the truck; and before long, the vehicle was out of sight. Danielle watched the road a moment after and then turned back to Gina, smiling and receiving the same in turn; happy that the day had turned out well, and feeling a little prickle of excitement that, while mysterious, was all too welcome.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry it has been so long since I updated. Life has been a little more crazy than anticipated and it took me longer than I would have liked to knock this one out. I want to thank my awesome Beta, she knows who she is. This story would not be moving along if not for her. And for you guys. Your reviews and favorites really help motivate me and remind me how much I enjoy writing this, even when everything else is chaotic. So, thank you. And, as always, I hope you enjoy reading the chapter and I look forward to your feedback. Thanks!

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The house was dark when Bucky pulled the truck up out front. Uncharacteristically dark, in fact. Ty was sitting on the porch, whining faintly, the front door open, the screen keeping the dog from going back inside. Danielle must have been up; she wouldn't have left Ty outside all night, and she wouldn't have left the door open. But if she was up, why weren't any lights on? Why couldn't he hear her moving around?

He could feel his heart thumping, matching time with the quick footsteps that carried him easily up the steps and across the porch. The last time he'd arrived to see something amiss at the house, it was just that she'd overslept… nothing had been truly wrong. He tried to remind himself of that now.

"Danielle?" He opened the screen door and Ty darted inside, stopping short, directing Bucky's gaze down to a familiar form.

Danielle half sat, half lying on the bottom stair, her arms protectively covering her head, shielding her face. She was breathing, but she was otherwise very, very still.

"Danielle! Dani!" He couldn't help the edge of panic that slipped into his voice, threatening to take over his normally pragmatic and rational brain.

She stirred a little as he knelt beside her, a sound not unlike Ty's whimper escaping her lips.

"What's wrong? Did you fall?" He couldn't see anything physically wrong with her, but something certainly was.

Bucky reached for her, his hands gripping her shoulders lightly to steady her. He was afraid to move her without knowing what had happened, but she began to move on her own, turning so that she was on her back. She winced, her face bunching in pain and distress. He tried to still her, but she reached for her head, gripping it and covering her face again, her lips parting as if she were going to speak, but nothing came out for a moment.

"My head…" She managed, at length. Her voice was hoarse and tense. "Migraine." She added, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, trying to shut out even the faint light coming in from the breaking dawn.

Bucky breathed a sigh of relief. He was still concerned but at least she hadn't fallen or been seriously injured. In the brief moments that passed when he'd first stepped inside and seen her lying on the floor, all manner of things had run through his mind. She might have fallen, she might have been attacked… He was more thankful than he could say that none of those thoughts had been truths. Obviously, this was painful for her, but it would pass and he would do his best to help her through it.

"Alright, let's get you to bed then." He steadied himself and then gathered her securely in his arms, lifting her firmly, but gently against his chest.

"Ty…" One of her hands reached out for the dog who'd been sitting patiently next to Bucky and was now following them as Bucky quickly ascended the stairs. Too quickly, he found, moments later.

"He's right here…" He'd been saying, trying to reassure her that her faithful, four-legged friend wasn't far behind. The moment he made it through the bedroom door she squirmed her way nearly out of his arms, one hand clamping down over her mouth, the other pushing against his chest in an effort to get down.

"Bathroom!" She squeaked out through her fingers and tightly pursed lips. Bucky put her down just inside it as quickly as he could. The door slammed, bouncing open and then shut again as she threw herself over the toilet bowl and the sound of her vomiting filled the room.

Bucky was at a loss. He wanted to go in and make sure she was alright, but he wasn't sure she'd want him to. While he was trying to decide he heard the toilet flush and the faucet running briefly after. Then there was nothing. He waited another moment and still, no sound.

"Danielle?" Silence was the only response.

When he nudged the door open, she was sitting on the floor, half leaning against the sink, her head hanging, hands covering her eyes. She looked absolutely exhausted and it became clear to him that the sturdiness of the bathroom counter was the only thing keeping her from lying on the floor.

Once again, he gently gathered her into his arms, moving slowly toward the bed. As he lowered her down her eyes cracked open, meeting his gaze; a small smile turning up one side of her mouth.

"Thank you," her voice was even more hoarse now, and something about the sound of it made his heart constrict. "I'm sorry…"

"Shh. Nothing to be sorry about. What can I do to help?" He kept his voice low, eyes searching her face as he waited for her to answer; his hands busy tucking in the covers around her. He patted the top of the bed and Ty hopped up, curling himself into her side, resting his head across her legs.

"You could just shoot me and put me out of my misery." She tried to smile again, tucking one arm under the pillow and rolling carefully onto her side, peering up at him through half-lidded eyes. "I'm kidding Bucky… Just sleep, and quiet. Thank you."

Bucky hadn't really thought she was serious about having him shoot her, but he didn't think it was a particularly funny joke either. Mostly, he realized, he didn't like to see her in pain, even if he guessed it was only temporary. Reaching a hand down, without thinking, he smoothed a few strands of hair back from her face, his fingers brushing against her temple.

"I'll be downstairs; I'll come check on you in a little bit. Sleep." Her eyes had already fluttered closed though and he wasn't sure she'd heard him. He gave Ty a quick pet and a whispered 'good boy' and then eased himself out of the room, leaving the door cracked behind him.

Downstairs Bucky set about turning on a few lights, putting out food and fresh water for Ty, and setting coffee to brew for himself. Just a moment after he'd filled his mug with hot coffee Danielle's phone began to ring. It was sitting on the kitchen island. The screen lit up and it vibrated heavily against the granite counter. He answered it quickly, afraid the sound would wake Danielle, and heard something of a familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Bucky?" The female voice seemed a little surprised but recovered quickly.

"Yeah. Gina?" He pulled the phone away from his face to confirm his suspicion, glancing at the caller ID flashing on the screen.

"Yeah, it's me. Dani around?" She didn't sound at all surprised that he was answering her friends phone at seven in the morning. Either that or she had masked it very well.

"Um… Well, she's in bed" He had hesitated and then blurted out the words before realizing they sounded a little questionable and hurriedly trying to amend his statement. "She's not feeling well, I mean, and, she's still in bed. She said her head hurt…"

Gina felt slightly guilty for enjoying Bucky's discomfort, until he mentioned the headache. "Is it a headache or a migraine?" She stopped him before he could say anything else.

"She said migraine." He confirmed. "Is there much of a difference?" He realized he wasn't altogether sure. He knew a migraine was a bad headache but, he'd sort of just thought it referred to the caliber of pain, not that it was something separate.

A short burst of laughter sounded out of the phone. "Spoken like someone who's never dealt with a migraine. Is she throwing up? Holding her head? Wanting everything quiet and dark?" Gina asked him, rapid fire.

"Yeah, all of that." He confirmed, hesitantly.

"Has she asked you to end her suffering?" Gina's laugh accompanied the words again.

Something about just how familiar Gina was with all this annoyed him a little and that last question… Well, considering his history, he was a little slow to respond. He didn't want Gina thinking Danielle was in any danger of that request being carried out.

"I would never hurt…" He wasn't allowed to finish the sentence.

"I'll take that as a yes." Gina cut him off, adding, "and I know you wouldn't. She's had migraines off and on as long as I've known her. She usually makes at least one morbid joke when she's in a lot of pain." Gina laughed a little again, trying to convey that this was normal and humorous, not something to worry about. "She has medication for it… an injection. It will help but she doesn't like to give it to herself. It's pretty easy to administer, if you don't mind doing it. I'll talk you through it."

"I can do that." He replied, wondering why Danielle hadn't mentioned this. Though, he did know something of pain and exhaustion, they often made it hard to remember even the simplest of things.

"The medicine works quick, but she'll be out for hours… all day probably. Maybe even into the evening. When she does wake up though, the migraine will be gone and there's usually no rebound headache so, it's worth it." Gina paused, taking an audible breath. "She just doesn't like to ask for help… she's stubborn."

Bucky knew Gina hadn't really needed to say that last bit, but he was glad she had. It made him feel a little better, and that too was something he understood. It had taken almost losing his life for him to ask for help, and even now it was something he hated to do. Lucky for him, he'd had a stubborn friend to make sure he got the help he needed. Lucky for Danielle, he was going to be that person for her right now.

"Bucky?" Gina's voice broke his through his thoughts and he realized he'd been silent for a few too many moments.

"I'm here. I'll give her the injection, if she wants it. I can stay with her today, or, until she wakes up." He cleared his throat some, trying to regain his focus. "Where is it?"

"It's in the refrigerator. There should be a black, zip-up pack on the back of one of the shelves. Tell me when you find it." He did, and Gina continued to talk him through administering the medication. "Ok. They are single-shot needles, so the medicine is already inside. This is an intramuscular injection so..."

"Yeah, I know what that is." He spoke over Gina a bit, "I can give it to her in the deltoid."

"That's right. Alright. If you're good then, thanks. I'm sure Dani will thank you later. I know this is kind of a lot." She had dumped a pile of information on him in a short amount of time. It did something to improve Bucky in Gina's opinion that he was so willing to take on this responsibility.

"I'm good. I don't want to see her hurting so, whatever I need to do..." He was zipping the case back up, preparing to take it up stairs with him; he tried to make the comment sound casual. He hadn't necessarily succeeded.

Those words, their conversation, and more than that, the tone of his voice told Gina more about Danielle's 'friendship' with the man on the other end of the phone than either of them were likely to admit. It brought a faint smile to Gina's lips and she found herself wanting to reassure him.

"She'll be fine. It's going to take most of the day, but she'll be fine. I can come over later if she's not up and you need to go. I'll call in a few hours and check-in and… you can call me if anything comes up. I've been through this with her before."

"Thanks, Gina. I… I appreciate the help." He did, truly. Her timing this morning, with this call, had been impeccable. "Alright, I'm going to go give her this. I'm sure we'll be fine." Gina agreed, and they disconnected the line leaving Bucky to stand a moment longer in the newly silent kitchen.

Gina was right; the shot was easy to administer. He'd only had to push up Danielle's sleeve and make sure to set the needle firmly into the muscle of her arm. The worst part was deciding whether to wake her but, Bucky had spent so much of his life not having the ability to make choices about even the most basic things that he wasn't going to deprive Danielle of her own right to choose. Even if choosing not to have the medicine was a mistake, he'd let her make it. To a point. Fortunately, she'd sleepily agreed, and he'd been able to quickly give her the shot and tuck the covers back around her before she really had time to wake up too much. Gina had also been right about the speed with which the medicine took effect. It didn't take long before her breathing evened out and he could tell that she was sleeping soundly and deeply; the lines of discomfort on her face smoothing out as the pain from the migraine began to ebb away.

Back downstairs Bucky found he didn't know what to with himself. He managed to waste a little time sitting on the back porch with Ty while he drank his coffee, and after that, refilling the mug and taking the percolator off the stove. He supposed he could head down to the fence or out to the barn but the idea of leaving Danielle alone in the house like this didn't sit well with him. Instead, he found ways to keep busy in and around the house, though he was careful not to do anything too intrusive. He swept the downstairs, cleaned the kitchen counters (though they didn't need it). He played in the yard with Ty when the dog had eventually come down, though Bucky left the door propped open, so he could hear Danielle should she need anything. He had managed to keep himself mostly occupied until lunch, the cleaning and playing dotted with quiet trips up to Danielle's bedroom to check on her. Each time she was sleeping, peacefully, and each time Bucky felt a sense of relief.

That was until the evening began to set in. He'd made himself some scrambled eggs and toast for lunch. He felt a little bad about eating her food, even if he could all but hear her scolding him for not eating anything sooner. He'd cleaned that up and taken a glass of water upstairs to Danielle, in case she woke and was thirsty, had chatted with Gina when she'd called to check-in, and had finally sat down to go over the plans for the barn he'd been making in the notebook he carried. That had taken up more time than he'd expected, and when he checked his watch it was nearing five. There was no sound from upstairs. The relief he'd been feeling earlier in the day had begun to swing back to worry. He knew Gina had said she's sleep most of the day but… how long was that really? Was there a point where he should be concerned? He mulled it over and over in his mind, counting the hours and reasoning with himself; alternately convincing himself that she was fine and that she wasn't. At a few minutes until six he couldn't take it anymore and he headed back upstairs, peeking through the door to see Danielle's still form bundled under the covers. The glass of water had been moved a little and the level of liquid in it lowered. His heart shuddered a little, pleasantly, and he moved silently into the room.

"Ty?" Danielle's hand appeared out from underneath the blankets, reaching over the edge of the bed for the dog. Ty was already on the bed though, it was Bucky's presence she sensed.

"It's me…" He answered, his voice low. Bucky moved to the side of the bed and squatted down to the level of the bed, peering into the mass of covers.

"Bucky?" Danielle was more than a little confused. She blinked her eyes open and saw only blankets. Pushing them away from her face her vision cleared a little, and in the evening light filtering in through the curtains she could make out the two forms other than her own, perched on and beside the bed. "Oh!" She reached the other direction for Ty and gave him a scratch on the side, her eyes moving over to Bucky, questioning.

"I'm here… How do you feel?" He leaned forward a little, the urge to brush her hair back making his hand tingle. He ignored it.

"Ok. Groggy… a little out of it. What time is it?" She sat up, slowly, craning her neck to try and see the clock on the nightstand.

"Six." He answered, "PM. You've been asleep all day. It was just before seven this morning when…"

"Oh my gosh!" She sat up a little straighter, the pieces of the puzzle coming back to her, little by little. "Have you been here all day?"

He nodded, suddenly wondering if that had been a mistake. If maybe she'd have preferred him to ask Gina to come or…

"Bucky… I'm so sorry. I… you could have left me, I would have been fine. I didn't mean to derail your day."

Relief. Again.

"You didn't." He assured her, letting himself reach a hand out to gently squeeze her forearm. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. Besides, it was nice to relax and do nothing…" He lied, but she didn't need to know how deep his concern went. The truth was, he wouldn't have left her alone for anything, but he found he couldn't quite say that.

Danielle nodded faintly, though by the look on her face she didn't necessarily believe him. "Did you eat something?"

"I did but that's not important. What about you? Does your head still hurt? Did the injection work?" He asked, his voice firm.

"It doesn't hurt anymore… oh… I thought I dreamed that. You gave me the shot... Thank you. How did you know?" Danielle fixed him with another questioning look and fumbled her hand around on the nightstand for a hair tie, before gathering her hair up into a messy bun.

"Gina called… just to talk to you I guess... She never said. She walked me through it. I'm supposed to call her when you wake up… she said she would come by, make sure you are alright."

Danielle was alright. Her brain was a little foggy still and she felt tired despite all of the sleep, but she was on the other side of the migraine. All things considered, excepting the half hour when she'd gotten out of bed and gone downstairs as the migraine pain first began, this had been relatively smooth sailing. She was more thankful than she could say for Bucky having been here. She realized, then, that he had carried her upstairs this morning and that brought on the memory of her throwing up, him asking her about taking the shot, and a few vague moments of awareness of him coming in to check on her. She was more than a little embarrassed and still immensely thankful for his help.

"Oh…" As the thoughts formed in her mind they showed on her face, and she looked apologetically at him. "I'm sorry you had to do all this for me… carrying me and the shot…" She tried to put a smile on her face. "No doubt you got your workout hauling me up here."

Bucky didn't laugh, or smile. "You aren't heavy." He said it so matter-of-factly that she didn't know how to respond. He didn't give her time anyhow. "And I don't mind. Stop saying you're sorry."

She nodded, fidgeting with the covers a little, acutely aware of just what a mess she must seem right now. "I should probably shower." She swung her legs off the side of the bed, glancing at the clock again and then back to the man next to her. "If you need to go…"

"I'll stay. At least, until you get out of the shower." He had been here all day. Another hour wouldn't make a difference, and he certainly wasn't going to leave just for her to get into the shower and have some kind of relapse; even if he knew the potential for that was small. He pulled himself up from the bed as he spoke and offered her his hand, helping her to stand and making sure she was steady before going to do the door. "I'll be downstairs." That was a given, he thought, but still, he'd felt compelled to say it.

Danielle stood by the bed for more than a few minutes after he'd gone. Trying to get her brain wrapped around what had happened today and to collect herself, in general.

Nothing, really, had happened. Well, nothing other than Bucky seeing her at her absolute worst. The kind of worst she was embarrassed for Gina, who she'd known for years to see… She decided she couldn't really think about that too much, or the implications of Bucky staying here all day, or being so worried with her well-being, even if he didn't show it outwardly. She knew him well enough now to know that his mere presence was an indicator of his concern.

The shower helped to wipe away some of the grime from her day-long nap, as well as the fog from her brain. And when she made it downstairs, freshly clothed in a pair of leggings and an oversized, lightweight sweater, she felt mostly human again.

Bucky was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, talking on the phone. On her phone.

"Is that Gina?" She asked, stepping up to him, her hand extended.

"Yeah… Here she is." He spoke the latter into the receiver and then handed the phone over to her, stepping out of the way.

"Hey G!" Danielle pinned the phone between her ear and shoulder and opened a cabinet, reaching up for a glass. Another hand batted hers away and she felt Bucky's presence as he stepped up behind her and pulled the glass down. Danielle turned to face him, and he mouthed 'what do you want?'. "Just more water, please. Sorry G. I'm here."

The conversation with Gina didn't last long. She wanted to make sure Danielle was alright, and they argued briefly about Gina coming over, but Danielle convinced her she'd be fine with a promise to call the next day. Gina was willing to leave it at that, and Danielle was grateful. Right now she wanted to drink her glass of water, get something to eat, and relax. She was so focused on that, and mulling those thoughts over in her head, that she momentarily forgot Bucky was there. Until he cleared his throat.

"Oh!" She jumped a little, her eyes widening, and turned to look at him, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry… thank you for the water… and everything." She glanced down at her feet, having to steel herself to look up at him again. "I appreciate it… but, you can go if you need to. I'm fine." She smiled a little, as if that would convince him; she thought it might have, judging by his face, but then her stomach growled.

"You need to eat." He brushed past her and opened the fridge and then paused, turning to glance over his shoulder, admitting, "I don't know what you should eat."

Danielle was eyeing the pie container on the counter but a look from Bucky, who was thinking of her being ill that morning and that she hadn't eaten anything all day, quelled any thoughts in that direction.

"Um, toast will probably be good." She grabbed the bread and stuffed two slices in the toaster while Bucky retrieved the jam and butter from the fridge. "I'm fine… really." She told him again, fishing a plate out of the dish rack.

Bucky had been bent over ruffling the fur on Ty's neck but stood up straight and looked at her, something like hurt passing briefly behind his eyes. It was stupid, he knew, to feel upset that she kept telling him to go. She'd felt really bad today, been in a lot of pain, and probably wanted some time to herself now that she was awake. He'd been here all day and he probably should have wanted to go but… He didn't. Not really. And it wasn't even that he thought Danielle needed him here anymore. She was right, she was fine. A thought bubbled its way to the top of his mind and he realized that the reason he didn't want to go was that he'd missed her today.

She'd been lying in bed all day, having spoken only a few words to him. And since he'd remained at the house, he'd been alone, save Ty's occasional company. He missed talking to Danielle, hearing her voice, hearing her laugh, moving around the kitchen with her in the morning. Yeah, it was stupid. You couldn't really miss something that wasn't gone. He didn't miss her when he was gone back to the Avenger's compound at night, or on the weekends when he wasn't here… Or did he?

Maybe he did, now that he thought about it. He was reluctant to admit it to himself, but more and more often he found himself thinking about her when he wasn't with her. He would see something, and it would remind him of something she liked, or said, or did. He found himself mentioning her name in conversations where it wasn't necessarily warranted, thinking about what he was going to say to her the next morning, or getting excited to jot down some idea in his notebook he wanted to remember to tell her. The revelation hit him rather hard. It stunned him really and when that began to wear off after a moment, he was left with a deep desire to bolt from the room, from the house and a nearly equal desire to stay.

"If you want some time to yourself, I'll go but…" He said the words carefully, evenly measured. He seemed to be very aware of them as they came out of his mouth.

Danielle was buttering her toast. Bucky had been silent for quite a few minutes, something that was not infrequent but had become more and more occasional as they'd spent time together. Still, she'd learned to let him have the moment and get through whatever it was that was happening in his head. When he finally spoke, she snapped her head up to look at him, and there was a very curious set to his face; one she couldn't remember seeing before.

"No, it's not that." She shrugged a little, trying to seem casual, though it was difficult under the gaze he was laying upon her. "I just, I feel bad keeping you cooped up here all day and, it's getting late. I'm sure you have better things to do than stay here and watch me eat toast."

"I don't, actually." The words fell off of his lips quite the opposite of the careful way he'd spoken a moment ago, surprising both of them.

"Oh." Danielle blinked a couple of times, mouth hanging slightly agape. She was suddenly aware that even though she had showered, she still looked a mess; and she was reminded of just what kind of mess she'd been earlier in the day. In fact, the idea of Bucky carrying her and listening to her be sick in her bathroom was now rapidly filling her up with a terrible humiliation that she had a hard time understanding. She could feel it welling up inside her and threatening to spill out onto her face. She struggled to recover. "Ok… well, I don't mind the company. Maybe…" She paused, why was she so nervous all of a sudden. "Maybe we could watch a movie?"

He nodded, something like relief seeming to move through him; tension visibly draining from his body. "Sure… What do you want to watch?"

There was another heartbeat of nervous silence between them and then the thought of getting to choose a movie to show Bucky, who had seen very few films, clicked in her brain and the moment of tension passed like it had never been there. She bit down on the corner of a piece of toast and drummed her fingertips on the counter as she thought.

"Maybe… um… it's silly but... ", Ok, so the nerves weren't completely gone. She found herself stammering out the first bit of the thought but managed to get the rest out pretty smoothly. "When I was little, I loved this movie called The Princess Bride. I watched it all the time, especially if I was at home, sick, or something…" She took another bite of toast and hazarded a glance up at him.

"The Princess Bride," he repeated, nodding his head.

"Yeah, it's a fairytale but, full of adult humor and general comedy. I think you'll like it, actually." She took another bite of toast and moved toward the living room, feeling the urge to do something other than stand there in front of him and eat.

"I'm sure I will… I think I can find it." His hand closed gently around her upper arm, to stop her. He knew where the DVDs were, and he was pretty sure he remembered how to work the DVD player. "Finish your toast, I'll get it."

Danielle nodded, reluctantly. It wasn't that she minded him helping but, she was still feeling timid and it was becoming difficult to attribute it to her earlier migraine or even the embarrassment she felt at his seeing her so ill. He'd been in her house all day, doing what? He'd obviously made himself something to eat, he'd said as much. And he was now kneeling down in front of the tv stand, rifling through the DVDs like they were his own. When had he become so familiar with her house? Her things? The real kicker was that, when she thought about it, it wasn't even his familiarity that bothered her, it was how right it seemed. There was something about watching him doing domestic tasks in her home that seemed natural, like he was always meant to be there, doing them. Washing the dishes, making coffee, playing with the dog. He just belonged.

She had been hoping, since she first met him, that he would eventually feel comfortable here. And, after they'd began a routine, she'd begun to hope that someday they might even be friends. Now they were friends, and he was comfortable, and the thing that frightened Danielle the most, was that she was too.

Very, very comfortable and it seemed to have happened without her knowing it.

"Danielle?" Bucky was looking up at her, concern creeping onto his face. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding a piece of half-eaten toast in one hand, just sort of staring ahead.

"I'm fine… sorry. Just… thinking." She cleared her throat and took another bite of toast before tossing the rest into the trash. "I might have slept through most of it, but it still feels like it's been a long day."

"Let me let Ty out. Then we can start the movie." He was already moving toward the front door, opening the screen and ushering the dog through as Danielle took a seat near the center of the couch.

She was quiet, settling back and pulling a blanket down around her. The thoughts from a few moments ago still rattling around her head, making her glance over at Bucky's form, leaning casually against the door frame. She couldn't see his face. His ball cap was on, as ever, and he was looking out after Ty - she guessed. He was wearing a thin, long-sleeved work shirt that stretched across his back; the well-built frame beneath the material apparent. That thought gave her the urge to squirm and so she shoved it down, and just in time too. Bucky turned as Ty trotted back inside and closed both doors, throwing the lock and striding over to the couch to sit down next to her.

She was uncharacteristically quiet and a little reserved, and Bucky wondered, not for the first time since Danielle had woken up, if these migraines often had the effect of making her a little sluggish in their aftermath. He also wondered if maybe it was the medication instead. Bucky wasn't going to say anything about it though. She had a right to be tired and out of sorts after the day she'd had.

"So this is a movie from your childhood, hmm?" He found he couldn't help but sit a little closer to her than he might normally have. The urge to offer support and aide hadn't completely faded after the events of the day. It was a difficult thing to manage; the desire to be close to her (even if he convinced himself it was for her and not him) versus the natural aversion to touch that had been beaten into him for so long. He settled for sitting close enough that their sides and shoulders would just touch, and for eventually tossing his arm along the back of the couch. Middle of the road, he thought.

"Yeah…" Danielle yawned and sank back into the cushions, leaning slightly toward him, drawing the covers up around her as she hit play on the remote. "Wore a vhs of this out when I was little… I thought it was magical, and funny… and who can resist true love." She murmured, her voice growing sleepy as the first frames of the film sprang to life.

Bucky knew that question was rhetorical and so he kept his answer to himself. He cast another glance down at her form; small and barely visible in the blanket, warm next to his side. Then he turned his attention to the movie and tried his best not to let his mind draw any links between the film and the woman next to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season (if you were celebrating) and a very happy new year! As usual, thanks for reading and sticking it out so far. I have a pretty good idea of how the next few chapters are laid out and where I'm going with them so they should be coming along shortly. Also, shout out to my awesome Beta, she knows who she is; what you guys should know is that she is awesome and is helping to make this story what it is. Alright, that's that. Nothing much else to report except to say thanks again, and enjoy the chapter. Your feedback, as always, in any form, is most welcome! Happy reading!**

* * *

The night of Danielle's migraine ended without incident.

Bucky sat through the entirety of The Princess Bride, chuckling quietly to himself, on occasion, as Danielle dozed beside him. She had woken a few times to interject some thought or giggle faintly at a favorite joke or line, but mostly, she slept. Bucky expected that at some point he'd feel uncomfortable; awake while she was sleeping next to him, but he hadn't. Well, there was that moment in the film that had made him feel uneasy, when Westley had been strapped to a wooden rack, and a machine had been attached to him; causing him immense pain and stripping away years of his life. The idea that a machine could suck out years of your life didn't particularly bother him, but the way the character had been strapped down, the way the machine attached to his head, and his screams when it was turned on made Bucky's heart pound, frantically. He could almost feel the panic rising but he kept reminding himself to breathe, managing to quickly mute the television until the scene had passed.

He found that just not hearing the man's tortured screams was enough to keep him from spiraling too far into his own memories. He also suspected that the gentle, rhythmic breathing of the woman next to him, bundled in her blankets, went a long way in helping him keep his level-headedness.

By the time the movie was over he felt relatively normal again; he'd even been able to enjoy the ending. In fact, he had enjoyed the film over all, and he could certainly see why Danielle was so taken with it as a child, and why it still held a special place now. Buttercup might have been a princess, but she wasn't your average princess and that seemed only right to Bucky. Danielle wasn't at all average either.

He half expected her to protest when he'd woke her afterward and told her he was leaving so that she could go back to bed and get some rest. It wasn't all that late and while he suspected she wanted to object, she was tired enough that she surprised them both and agreed.

He found, sitting in the truck, that despite the fact that he knew she was over any pain or discomfort, he had trouble turning the key in the ignition and driving away. The actual drive wasn't much better. His thoughts kept turning back to the way he'd found her that morning, how still she'd been lying at the bottom of the stairs. It made him grip the steering wheel a little more tightly, though he was careful not to clutch it too tight. He didn't want to have to explain two cracked steering wheels.

Upon returning to the compound, he was glad to find Steve in the gym. Obviously, he'd gotten tired of waiting on Bucky, and that was fine. At least he was still up and around, because however unusual it was, Bucky felt like it might be nice to talk. At least a little.

"Everything alright?" Steve called out, making his way over as Bucky stepped through the doors, pausing at a bench to drop his towel and water bottle.

"Yeah, it is." Bucky wanted to talk, but beginning was difficult. Steve was patient though and could see that his friend had something on his mind.

"Good. Just a little late, so I wondered…" Steve propped himself against the wall, wiping sweat from his face with the back of his hand.

"Yeah…" Bucky had been flipping the lid of the water bottle open and closed, but after a moment he quit fussing with it and straightened up, meeting Steve's gaze. "When I got there this morning… Ty was outside on the porch whining. No lights were on... couldn't hear her, Danielle, moving in the house." He swallowed hard and glanced down at his shoes. "Found her lying at the bottom of the stairs."

"Was she alright? Is she alright?" Steve was concerned, even more so when Bucky looked up at him, his face stricken.

"Yeah. She's fine. Um… She hadn't fallen or anything, just sort of, laid down there." He reached up to scratch the back of his neck, realizing he was having trouble controlling his emotions, that he couldn't keep them from appearing on his face. "She has migraines, apparently. Has for a long time, and they can be really bad?" He shrugged a little. "I had no idea. She has medicine for them, a shot. I had to give it to her. She slept through the rest of the day. Didn't wake up until the evening… I guess it just looked a lot worse than it was when I first got there." He hurried through, giving Steve the abridged version. He wasn't sure Danielle would want him broadcasting her getting sick or the details of her day.

"Sorry man." Steve reached out and clapped Bucky on the shoulder. "Glad she's alright. It's a good thing you were there Buck."

"Yeah." He nodded, taking a deep breath. It felt like the first one he'd been able to take since he'd left the compound hours ago. "I uh… I just wanted to stay and make sure everything was ok before I came back." He said it as if he needed to explain. He didn't need to explain anything to Steve, but it seemed it was more for himself anyhow.

"Yeah of course." Steve nodded. His face grew a little serious and he took a step closer to Bucky, gripping his shoulder tightly. "Listen, Buck. I know it must have been scary to find her lying at the bottom of the stairs; that would scare anyone. There's nothing wrong with that." Steve stepped back a little and he looked at Bucky for a minute before speaking again. "You're allowed to care."

Bucky shifted uncomfortably under Steve's gaze and words. In a way, Bucky hated how Steve seemed to be able to zero right in on the problem. In a way, he was glad he had. It saved Bucky from having to say it out loud. He took another deep breath in and nodded at Steve, his jaw tight, muscle ticking away on the side of his face as he tried to balance his feelings.

"I know. I just," he hesitated, agan taking a deep, steadying breath. "I didn't expect to… to care." Bucky reached up to grip Steve's shoulder, mirroring his touch, for just a moment. Then, he nodded and stepped back. "Feel like sparring?"

"Absolutely." Steve smacked his arm again and marched, without any further looks or questions, over to the ring, Bucky hot on his heels.

The workout definitely helped Bucky relax a little and he supposed, whether he liked to admit it or not, the brief chat with Steve did too. Still, even after he was back in his quarters, exhausted and lying in his own bed, he had to keep reminding himself that Danielle was fine, and that she'd promised to call if anything happened.

It didn't matter. He got less sleep that night than usual and when he arrived the next morning to find the lights on and Danielle scrambling eggs in the kitchen, he hugged her a little tighter and a little longer than he had before.

Danielle didn't give herself time to wonder about the hug or to let it rattle her nerves. She leaned into it and gave him the biggest smile she could muster. She was rewarded with a genuine smile from Bucky in return. It made her heart thud so suddenly that she had to turn away; pretending to busy herself over the eggs to give her a minute to get herself under control. By the time she sat their plates on the little table in the kitchen, she hardly seemed flustered at all.

"I got a call from the roofing company a few minutes before you got here," she informed him, glancing up as he sat down across from her. "They finished the barn roof yesterday. They'll be coming back to collect their equipment this afternoon, but otherwise we are good to go." She smiled at him and before he could respond, continued. "I was hoping we might go down there today and start clearing some things out. That is, I mean… I am going to. If you want to come that would be… nice." She added the last hastily, swallowing hard and pushing a mouthful of eggs between her lips before she could say anything else that sounded so, well, stupid. The memory of the mess she'd been the day before and the awkward tension that had ran between them in the evening was still hanging around her brain. She was having trouble shaking it off.

"Yeah. Of course." Bucky quirked an eyebrow up at her, deciding that maybe she was still a little out of sorts from the day before and letting her awkward words slide without any further thought. "That's the plan, right? Depending on how long it takes to clear out the stuff inside we could be working on the exterior walls by the end of the week." He gave her another little smile, and then ducked his head to tuck into breakfast.

Thankfully, for the both of them, clearing out the barn was a sufficient distraction to keep any tension or nerves at bay for the rest of the morning. There wasn't much being stored in the main barn to clear out, so by mid-morning they had it empty and on a whim, had gone to scour some of the other outbuildings on the property - to see if anything in them might be of use. The whim proved to be fruitful. Several of the smaller buildings toward the back of the property really needed to be torn down all together, but the old doors, windows, and even a few tables and storage units found inside them were going to make great additions to the barn remodel.

By lunchtime they'd loaded a few of their finds into Bucky's truck, confirmed that the newly milled and treated timber would be arriving in a couple of days, and had a game plan for the barn that was drawn out in detail Bucky's notebook.

It gave Danielle a sort of renewed sense of purpose and eased her mind a little. She'd been thinking about the informal meeting Gina had set between herself and the woman from the local Chamber of Commerce this coming Friday. The woman was heavily involved in community events and was, apparently, interested in holding the annual fall festival at the farm. That was both an exciting and daunting prospect. But it was what Danielle had imagined for this place, so if it was even remotely possible that she could secure something like that, she had to try. That meant, of course, making sure the barn and at least the front part of the property was in shape.

The festival was held toward the end of October and that meant she only had about a month to get it all done. No, they. Bucky was going to help, she reminded herself. Together, she thought, they would certainly be able to get it ready for the festival. If she could do her part and secure it with the Chamber and other groups that sponsored it.

Bucky had headed down to the construction site, intent on making an appearance, even if only for a few minutes every other day or so. He wanted to check on things and make sure everything was running according to plan. He had a job to do, he'd said, and even if it was only scheduling and paperwork at this point, he still intended to do it.

Danielle didn't have a problem with that. As she walked back to the house, she thought it was good, even. It would give her time to call Gina and get a little more information about this Darla Anderson she was supposed to meet with and formulate a plan for their meeting. Then she could take their notes from the morning and start to work out some sort of timeline. It seemed like a productive way to spend the afternoon, a solid plan. At least, it had been, until she saw the delivery truck pulling away and the large box on the front porch.

* * *

When Bucky came in the door a little while later, he was surprised to see Danielle sitting, crossed legged on the floor, amid several piles of photos. An open cardboard box was sat on the end of the coffee table nearest her and Ty was situated in front of the empty fireplace, resting his head on several pieces of bubble-wrap.

Bucky started to make a little joke, comment on the state of the living room… everything was typically very tidy in Danielle's home, so he thought it a good chance to rib her a little. When he stepped into the room though she looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed, tears still drying on her cheeks as she sniffled a little and brought her free hand up to wipe at her face; the other was holding a polaroid to her chest.

"Danielle?" He knelt down in front of her, reaching a hand out to grab her ankle, gently. He felt his heart constrict and he immediately wondered if something terrible had happened; images of the migraine incident and Danielle's pained face flashing into his mind.

"Sorry… Momma sent me this box of old pictures… and…" She tried to get her voice under control. It was stupid to be sitting here and crying over a picture of her and Andrew, her older brother, as children. Nothing had happened, Andrew was fine, she was fine, her parents were fine… She just hadn't really allowed herself to admit it, until now, but she'd been growing fairly homesick and opening the box of pictures had brought all of that right out from where it'd been hiding.

"It's ok…" Bucky squeezed her ankle a little and slid his legs down underneath him, being careful not to crush any of the pictures strewn around on the floor. "Looks like she sent you a lot of photos…" He wasn't sure what to say, wasn't sure how upset she was or how he should comfort her.

"Yeah… I asked her to when I first moved, and it took them some time to make the copies and get them all together. She sent a few other things too but… I haven't gotten that far yet." She gestured to the box and gave him a small smile, her eyes still a little wet. "Sorry, I just miss them," she glanced up at him, smiling faintly, sadly and then continued. "This is a picture of my brother Andrew and I…" She tried stretching out her arm, so he could see but, the angle was wrong, and they were too far separated so Danielle pushed a smaller stack of photos to the side and crawled over next to him to show him the image. "I was six… Andrew would have been almost eight…" The picture showed a little Danielle, very blonde and with a bright pink cast on her right elbow; beside her, a little boy sat, his arm flung over her shoulder. 'Danielle & Andrew '92 ' was scrawled across the white frame of the polaroid in haphazard cursive.

"Look at you…" Bucky took the picture from her and peered down at it. It was obviously Danielle, but her hair was a light blonde, her cheeks chubby, and one of her teeth was missing; clearly visible in the wide grin she had on her face. He laughed just a little and glanced down at her, glad to see that she was smiling some. "What happened?"

"We were outside at my Aunt's playing hide and seek… Me, Andrew, and our older cousin, Michael… I tripped and fell trying to run up to this concrete patio they had out back… I put my arms out to catch myself, but my right elbow cracked against the corner of the concrete. It was only a fracture, but I still had to wear the cast. Michael ran inside to get an adult and I was crying so Andrew came over to try and make me feel better…" She glanced up at Bucky, leaning into him a little, her cheek barely brushing the fabric of his shirt, against his shoulder. "He was trying to be grown up about it… but by the time we got to the hospital, he was crying too." She chuckled a little and shook her head at the memory.

"That's sweet…" Bucky smiled a little, but it caught on his face, only for a moment, looking as if he was holding it there purposefully to cover something else. Danielle almost asked him what was wrong, but he began speaking before she could.

"I had a sister…" He handed her back the photo and looked over at her. "Rebecca… I don't have many memories of her, but I can kind of remember what she looked like when she was young." He took a deep breath clearing his throat. "I can hear her laugh in my head, sometimes." He was trying to keep his tone light, Danielle could tell, but the sadness was creeping through anyhow.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, scooting a little closer and sliding her arm through his.

Bucky pulled away immediately and Danielle was about to move back, thinking she'd overstepped somehow, but he surprised her. He picked up his right arm, pulling it from hers and dropped it around her shoulders, leaning himself back against the bottom of the arm chair behind him. His fingers curled around Danielle's shoulder and pulled her against him, his head dropping back a moment to rest against the seat of the chair.

"Nothing for you to be sorry about… that was a long time ago." He cleared his throat again, sitting up, and pointed at a picture on the floor of a young man in uniform. "Who's that?" He was trying to distract himself, both from the memory of his sister and the fact that he'd just initiated such purposeful, close contact with Danielle. She obviously didn't mind, in fact she seemed to be content leaning against him, but it didn't make it any less nerve-wracking on his part.

"My Uncle, William… My Mom's older brother." Danielle leaned forward and picked the photo up, bringing a small stack of other pictures with it. She half expected Bucky to take the opportunity to break the contact, but he didn't. It was surprising how easy it was to lean back against him, her cheek resting against the front of his shoulder, tilted up to see him while she showed him the photograph.

"Marine Corps?" Bucky took the photo from her and looked it over, noting the crisp, dress blues the man wore.

"Yeah. This was his graduation. Parris Island, I think." She set it to the side and showed him another, featuring the same young man, also in his dress uniform. The picture was, judging by the color palette, taken in the seventies and showed the Marine escorting a woman, in a simple, but elegant wedding dress, walking up the aisle. "My parent's wedding…"

"She's very pretty. You look like her." Bucky leaned down a little, trying to get a better look, acutely aware of how close Danielle's face was to his, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Oh! Yeah… She is… and thanks… usually people think I look more like my Dad." She was definitely aware of their close proximity and felt suddenly awkward and unsure of herself. The fleeting memory of a similar sensation from the night before sliding back across her brain. "There's probably a hundred pictures here." She said, by way of changing the subject. "Oh! And a couple of other things in the box… I don't know what they are."

Danielle leaned forward as if to pull it off of the table, but Bucky stopped her, reaching over her and pulling the box gently from the table to sit in his lap. There were several, heavily wrapped items in the bottom and he pulled one out and handed it to her. After a moment of fighting with the paper and packing around it she managed to reveal a small glass platter, tinted a pale blue, with a dainty pattern cut into the rim, the sight of which made both of them gasp a little.

"I know what that is…" He almost whispered it, flicking his eyes up to meet Danielle's when she looked up at him. "May I?" He held out his hands and she placed the platter into them.

"It was my Great-Grandmother's. It's called Depression Glass… I can't remember the name of the pattern." Danielle watched him turn it over in his hands, his eyes going a little glassy, getting that far-away look in them again. It didn't last long though, he passed the platter back to her and let her re-wrap it and set it carefully in the box before he spoke again.

"When I was younger… before the War…" He cleared his throat, moving his arm back around her, this time in an effort to seem casual, as if nothing was amiss. "You could buy that at the grocery store, or sometimes, with certain types of food, you'd get a piece… It was pretty cheap. I think we had a few pieces and, we didn't have much money at all." He hazarded a glance at Danielle who had relaxed against his side and was listening with rapt attention. "I remember, when I was older… when… Steve and I were sort of… on our own..."

Danielle could hear that there was some hesitation in his voice now, and he paused, trying to collect himself before he continued. There wasn't anything particularly emotional about this memory, or bad… it was just, unexpected and, except with Steve and occasionally his therapist, Dr. Jansen, he never really talked about his life from before. It was more natural to do with Steve, with the doctor, it was clinical… this… telling Danielle… it felt different. He didn't quite know how but, it made it more difficult in a way. He felt like he was revealing something very personal to her, despite the fact that it was no more personal than what she'd just divulged to him.

"I was headed downtown to one of the clubs… to go dancing." He pressed on, focusing on the memory.

"You went dancing?" Danielle's eyes widened, her mouth curling into a bright smile as she tilted her face up to him a little more. She didn't know why she should be surprised about that, social dance used to be a much bigger part of life than it was now; at least, it was much different than it was today. She suspected Bucky would not recognize or like the dance clubs of 2018.

He nodded, and his mouth twitched a little, one side curling up in what she could only be described as a rakish smile. "Mhmm… The Dame's loved it…"

He gave her sly grin and the tiniest wink, and for a moment, she could see it. She could vaguely remember the news reports about him, showing his service photo; a strikingly handsome young man, in uniform, who definitely had a witty charm and bit of cheek to him. Just then, when he'd said those words, given her that little half-smile and wink, she saw that man peeking through.

For Bucky's part, he didn't really know what had brought out that flirtatious behavior or had prompted him to speak that way. It wasn't untrue… girls had loved to go dancing, and he'd loved spending the evenings holding them as they whirled around the floor. But any misgivings he might have had about his words or actions were quelled by Danielle's response.

"Dames, huh?" She managed, though the words were accompanied by what she might later consider to be an embarrassing giggle; it only made Bucky's smile grow wider. Danielle cut her eyes at him, trying to wrangle her mind away from the image of a clean-cut, cocky, James Barnes leading girls out on the dance floor.

Bucky laughed a little and nodded again. "Yeah… Dames… we used to call girls that. I don't… I guess that's not ok anymore." He shrugged a little and seemed to refocus on his story. "I was coming down the stairs and a woman who lived on the floor below us was carrying a platter, kind of like that one… only hers was green." He took a deep breath, Danielle's smile reassuring him somehow, so that he could continue. "I didn't really know her. She had a lot of kids and no husband… I just remember that she had all this food piled on that plate. More food than any of us ever really had at that time. At least all at once." He swallowed, audibly, hesitating again before continuing. "I don't know if she was going or coming with it, but she slipped in the hall. She almost didn't drop it… Almost." He sighed and shook his head. "It went everywhere, shattered into about a million pieces. All of the food hit the floor... I just remember her being so upset and how, there wasn't anything I could do. "

Danielle leaned into him, her hand reaching up to press gently against his chest when he grew silent, the touch prompting him to speak again.

"I don't know why that came back to me. I just… I always thought, if she was taking it somewhere, it must have been hard on her to get together enough food for herself and her kids, let alone anyone else. And if she was bringing it home… they must have needed it." Bucky almost wished he hadn't mentioned the memory. It made him sad in a way he couldn't quite identify, and he had to keep reminding himself that the woman was dead, her kids probably quite old now, and that there was nothing he could do for them.

Danielle seemed to understand that it had some impact on him, and they were both quiet for a moment, which he was grateful for. In fact, sitting there, in silence, he surprised himself again by finding that he wasn't nervous anymore. He realized he was pretty comfortable sitting on the floor like this, despite their prolonged and, fairly intimate, at least for Bucky, contact.

It was Ty who broke the quiet, shifting on the pile of bubble wrap in his sleep. It seemed to snap them both out of thought, making Danielle chuckle a bit before reaching for another pile of photos.

"Want to look at a few more pictures? I'm sure they sent some embarrassing ones… Although, if you see any of me in middle school you might run for the door." She laughed a little and Bucky smiled, seemingly thankful for the change of topic. He reached up and sat the box back on the coffee table and nodded at her, settling back against the chair.

"That bad huh?" Bucky squeezed her shoulder as she riffled through the stack of photos to find what she was looking for, "I can't wait."

* * *

Despite the fact that there was some urgency in working on the barn and making the front of the property presentable if she had any hope of securing the fall festival event, it had been nice to spend the afternoon inside reminiscing over photos with Bucky. After he'd told the story about the Depression Glass they had focused on photos from Danielle's childhood, or family. She'd taken care to direct their conversation, to keep it light; mocking her terrible fashion choices, and the trends visible through the years on display in the photos to imbue their conversation with humor. It had worked, and they had whiled away several hours comfortably sitting, with Bucky's arm around her shoulders, and her leaned against his side, chatting easily as if were a common occurrence.

He hadn't been gone all that long when the phone rang. In fact, Danielle had just sat down at the kitchen island, their notes on the renovation spread out in front of her. The caller ID read Gina's name and it reminded Danielle she'd been planning to call her earlier, before the box of pictures had distracted her.

"Hey girl!" Gina must have been in her car, Danielle could hear, through the Bluetooth connection, the sounds of her blinker and passing traffic.

"Hey G! Thanks for checking in again yesterday… and for mentioning the shot to Bucky." She'd already said thanks but, it didn't hurt to say it again.

"Of course… Lucky I called, if I do say so myself. Sorry if it's loud, I'm on the way home." Gina chuckled, confirming what Danielle had already suspected. "Speaking of yesterday… the reason I called was, I saw an email from Darla before I got in the car to head to the office. I was calling to tell you that she said she would be coming out of a meeting with the historic society and to the festival for a little while, early on… She said she would be out and down by the concert stage around 5 if you wanted to meet there."

"Yeah… Thanks. I was going to ask if there was a time or place. Maybe when I get there I can just give you a call? Unless you weren't going to be present…"

"No, no… I figured I'd make the introduction in person and then leave you two to talk, or I can stay… Ma'am!" Gina said the last word as if she were scolding someone, someone who obviously wasn't Danielle. "You could have put on your blinker and then I would have known you were turning… ugh!"

Danielle couldn't help but chuckle. "Everything alright?"

"Yes. These people on the road, you know? Anyway… I may have been wrong about Bucky." Gina said it with the same tone that she'd used when talking about drivers on the road. Casual, slightly exasperated.

"I'm sorry… what?" Danielle wanted to hear her say it again; both for the satisfaction it would bring and to make sure she'd said what she thought.

"I might have judged him a little too quickly… harshly. Ok? Look, I admit when I'm wrong. And let's be clear, I'm not 100% sold but, he seemed genuinely concerned about you yesterday and, it was good of him to stay and make sure you were alright." She conceded.

"Yeah," Danielle felt her throat tighten a little, but she ignored it. "It was and thank you. Just give him a chance please. He just… requires a little patience and understanding. He's a good person, G."

"I promise… I'll be better." Gina agreed, and the sound changed, less background noise leading Danielle to assume Gina had arrived at her destination. "What are you wearing? Something cute. I want you to meet Mike. That's the new guy I told you about. He's coming, and I've raved about you so…"

Danielle scoffed in mock disgust. "How dare you? I'm always cute." Gina only laughed in response, Danielle joining her.

"Alright… I need to run. If I don't talk to you before text me on Friday when you head in. I'll see you at the concert. Make sure Barnes cleans up too. You're bringing him along right?"

"Yeah, He's coming. Steve too, I think. See you on Friday." The phone went dead, and Danielle set it back onto the counter. This Friday was going to be a little make or break, she thought. Perhaps even in more ways than one.

There was the conversation about whether or not the farm was a good candidate as location for the fall festival and then there was going out in public with Bucky. The former had been on her mind since the day Gina mentioned it. It was exactly what she'd wanted for this place. A way to invest in the community, be part of it, and use her skills in events and management to do something she loved her own way, on her own terms.

And then, there was Bucky. She wasn't so much worried about him as she was worried for him. She didn't know how overwhelming this concert might be. She had no idea how many people would be there or how they might react to him in person.

What she did know was that if this thought was plaguing her mind, it must have been haunting Bucky; though she suspected he wouldn't be eager to admit to it. It didn't matter. If he was willing to put himself out there like this, she was going to do everything she could to make sure they both had a good time.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello Everyone! I am so sorry that it has been so long since I've posted a chapter. Life went a little sideways and unfortunately, I just wasn't able to devote myself to this story in the way it deserves. Happily, things have now smoothed out and I'm working to dive back in. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, I hope you can find your way back to this story as I have. As always, please review - your comments, in all their forms, are very much appreciated. And of course, a shout out to my Beta without whom this story would not be possible! Thanks everyone and enjoy!**

* * *

Bucky stared into the floor length mirror in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs at Danielle's, frowning slightly at the image reflecting back at him. He'd come up nearly 45 minutes ago to clean up and change his clothes. That had seemed a simple task and had been, until he'd started tucking in his shirt, and he realized, he wasn't sure if people did that anymore. They did, of course, he knew that, actually; but should he? Was that too formal? Was it too casual if he didn't? He had tucked the shirt tail in and untucked it half a dozen times before settling on what he knew. In it was, and, better to be slightly less casual; he could always un-tuck it later if he needed to. After he'd conquered that mountain, he was sure he would give himself a once-over in the mirror and be ready to go.

How wrong he had been.

His clothing was acceptable, he'd thought, but his hair was a different story. It was getting really long, and a bit unruly. Wearing his hat would keep it out of his face but he didn't think the beat up baseball cap would be appropriate for going out to an evening event, even if it wasn't anything too fancy. He supposed he could ask Danielle for a hair band, though, come to think of that, he wasn't exactly sure how to pull his hair back in a way that was effective but would also look alright.

After coming away from HYDRA and his time as the Winter Soldier, Bucky had not really been concerned with his appearance. He'd had other things to worry about. He knew that appearances were something he'd cared about before, quite a bit. And now he found the further he was removed from HYDRA's programming, the more he was out in the world, he began to care again. Not just that his hair was out of sorts or that his beard had gotten a bit shaggy either. He found he cared about his appearance overall, how he looked, how people thought of him; all things that hadn't been important to him in a very long time.

More than this renewed sense of self-awareness, he had begun to remember, in greater detail, his life before the fall from the train; not just what he'd done but who he'd been. Little things like the concern over his appearance or his reputation had begun to crop up and remind him that he'd been someone quite different before HYDRA. That was, in a way, one of the harder things to reconcile about his life now.

Bucky knew that people were often very different as adults than when they were younger, and this was true for him, certainly, but he hadn't come by these differences in the same way as most people. His had been a very unusual and very hard road and very long if one looked at the years. It was a road he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to completely leave behind. A thought that often found its way to the forefront of his mind. It brought with it a certain amount of pressure; to figure out exactly who he was now, what kind of man he was, or was going to be.

There were no easy answers to those questions, though he had made a start. He knew there were things he had been, in his youth, that he'd like to be again. Confident, would certainly rate highly among those traits. He seemed to always feel he was lacking in that department, particularly where social situations were concerned.

He knew that as a younger man he'd had no trouble speaking to women, or anyone, really. He had been able to speak to people easily, without worry or second guessing himself, in general. With women, he'd had charm to spare, and couldn't remember ever wanting for a date or a dance partner. Now? Well, now he found it difficult to speak to most people unless he already knew them, and that was a limited pool. But even with those he knew, it was hard to feel comfortable sometimes. Danielle even, as much time as he had now spent with her, and as familiar as they'd become, sometimes he just felt awkward and out of place around her and he had no idea how to deal with that, particularly with thoughts of his former self floating around in his mind. It bothered him more than he was prepared to admit, and even worse, he had no idea how he might ever come back to that place of comfort around people, or at least even a little bit of confidence in himself being near them.

The door to Danielle's room opened and shook Bucky out of his thoughts. He glanced into the mirror again and decided that he was in about as good a shape as he was likely to get into tonight. Flipping off the room light, he stepped out into the hallway and stopped up short as Danielle rounded the corner, heading for the stairs, looking as pretty as he could remember anyone looking, ever.

She was wearing an off-white dress with a faint print of navy flowers and tiny green leaves that came down a few inches above her knee. It was three-quarter sleeved, elastic bands in the cuffs to create fullness in the arm; the bodice of the dress was seamed and structured to fit snugly against her chest and torso and it buttoned down the front with a belt of the same fabric tied tightly around her waist. Her hair wasn't curly, exactly, but it was falling against her shoulders and down her back in large, soft waves that Bucky momentarily considered running his fingers through. He didn't of course, instead he tried to muster up a smile, but it didn't quite make it and he realized, when he blew out a long breath and spoke, that he looked far more serious than he should have.

"You look… really nice." He cleared his throat and hoped that those words were a safe choice, despite their stuttered delivery.

"Thank you. So do you." She smiled back, beaming at him and taking a few steps forward. She meant it too. Bucky cleaned up well. Very well, if she were being honest. He was wearing a pair of well fitted, dark wash jeans over a less work-worn pair of boots, with a navy, button down shirt, tucked in to the jeans. The whole look seemed to emphasize his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and certainly the way the jeans fit around his legs was not lost on Danielle.

She cleared her throat and smiled again, bringing a hand up to give him a pat, light and lingering, against the center of his chest over the top buttons of the shirt, which he'd left undone.

"I guess so… Hair's a little… wild." He sheepishly ducked his head at the returned compliment and brushed a stray strand of hair behind one ear. "I thought about pulling it back but, I don't really know if that would work."

"Yeah." She murmured, looking as if she was thinking of something. Whatever it was, it seemed to dawn on her and Danielle's eyes widened a touch as she reached out for him again, gripping his wrist lightly and pulling him back toward her bedroom door. "Come here. I can help you. If you want." She added hastily.

"Ok…" He followed her, hesitating just a little as she pushed open the door and moved into the bedroom. He had been in the bedroom before. Just a few days ago, in fact, when she'd had the migraine. But now that he wasn't here to check on her well-being or help her he wasn't sure he should be here at all. He thought about how uncomfortable the idea of people invading his bedroom at the compound would be. This was uncomfortable too but it also felt very...intimate? Maybe that was just his mind running away from him. Danielle didn't seem to mind; if she felt at all the same, she didn't show it. Instead, she gave him a gentle shove toward the end of her bed and indicated that he should sit while she slipped into the master bathroom, disappearing from view.

Earlier in the week he'd been focused on caring for her and had paid little attention to the room itself. It was decorated much as the rest of the house. Bucky could certainly see Danielle's touch in it.

The color palette was a range of cool greys and blues, the furniture -the four-poster bed he was sitting on included- was all dark wood with light colored drapes hanging around the windows, giving the room a light, airy feel. It wasn't specifically feminine, not in the traditional sense, but it wasn't overly masculine either. Bucky quite liked it. He really liked all of the house that he'd seen, and thought, if he were ever going to do any decorating, which he doubted, he wouldn't mind something like this. It was classic and elegant without being pretentious, but also didn't stray too far into anything too rustic. Tasteful, comfortable, homey… those were the words that came to mind as he looked around.

Danielle appeared a moment later with a comb and small jar in one hand. She kicked off the navy flats she'd been wearing and climbed up on the bed behind Bucky, making him crane his neck around to look at her; apprehension evident on his face.

Danielle chuckled a little and set her hands on his shoulders, turning him back to face forward, and giving him a little squeeze.

"I promise this will be painless." She smiled as she spoke though she felt her heartbeat pick up a little too. Danielle hadn't meant to lean down so close to him, and at this distance she could smell the faint scent of cologne and underneath that the clean, masculine smell that was particular to Bucky, and, she realized, that had become quite familiar to her.

"Ok" He relented, relaxing his shoulders some. A moment later he could feel her hands in his hair, fingers gently combing it back away from his face. She'd had an actual comb and he wondered why she wasn't using it, though, if he were being very honest with himself, this felt much better.

A moment later the touch disappeared, but only for a second. She had opened the jar and was rubbing a tiny dab of pomade into her hands, warming it up between them before reaching her fingers to the front of his hairline. She combed her hands back through his hair again, lightly distributing the pomade and keeping his hair away from his face and in some semblance of order. She continued the motion for another minute, her fingers dancing around to arrange a few wayward strands before they fell away, her work finished.

"All done!" She said, her mouth much closer to his ear than he'd expected. It made him draw a deep breath, which he tried to pass off as a response to her work on his hair.

Scooting over to the side a little, he glanced across to the mirror attached to the top of her dresser. He was surprised to find that it looked… fine. His hair was back out of his face (though a few strands had managed to shake themselves loose with his movement), and he found he didn't necessarily hate having it back, even though he expected to feel insecure without the brim of the ball cap to give him something to hide behind.

"Thank you." He spoke while standing and turning around to face her, offering up a genuine smile along with a hand to help pull her from the bed.

"You're welcome!" She grinned up at him and let him help her down. Once her feet had touched the floor, she couldn't resist reaching a hand up to brush a loose strand back behind his ear, marveling at the way his features seemed to stand out without the hair or cap there to veil them.

His eyes, in particular, seemed impossibly blue and Danielle realized, a moment too late, that she'd been staring up into them. She felt heat creeping up her throat and into her cheeks as she dropped her gaze a little; embarrassed and again becoming acutely aware of how close they stood.

"Should we get going?" This was very awkward now, and despite Bucky's somewhat questionable social skills, even he could tell it wasn't just him that was feeling out of sorts.

"Yeah… yeah, we should." Danielle turned away, thankful for the segue as she slipped her shoes back on and followed him out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

She took a few minutes to wash her hands, make sure Ty had plenty of food and water, and to check that there was a light left on in the kitchen.

When she came into the foyer Bucky was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, Ty sitting on the floor between his legs with his face resting on Bucky's knee. This had become one of her favorite sights; seeing Bucky with Ty, playing or just sitting together. They seemed to gravitate to each other, and Ty's adoration of Bucky went a long way with Danielle to say what kind of person he really was, whether Bucky knew it about himself or not.

This time, Danielle managed to only stare for just a moment before she picked up her purse and phone and came to stand at the door, reaching her hand out to give Ty a pat on the head.

Bucky stood up, ruffling the dog's fur as he got a quick pet from Danielle and stepped around them both, opening the front door and holding the screen open for her to step out. A few minutes later the house was locked up and they were heading to the car.

Bucky had offered to drive and Danielle had accepted. It was no real surprise to her that he had followed her to the passenger side of the truck to help shut the door behind her before going to climb in himself. The last time, well, the only time, she'd ridden with him she'd jumped in and out of the truck without giving him a chance to open or shut the door and she wondered if maybe that had been a mistake. She was obviously capable of doing it herself, but she had never felt that a man wanting to hold open a door was a commentary on capability; she'd seen it more as a gesture of kindness and civility. If Bucky wanted to open doors for her, she would be mindful of it in the future, and let him; whether it was choosing to open doors, disliking vinaigrette, or his movie preferences, Danielle felt a sense of pride and something more (which she couldn't quite place) each time he made a choice all his own, after so many years of not having the luxury.

"Ready?" His voice broke through her thoughts and she felt the truck jerk into gear. Danielle realized she'd just gotten in and sat, silent. She was still holding her purse in her lap and hadn't put on her seat belt.

"Sorry, just thinking about this meeting, I know it isn't formal, but I'm nervous and… I just hope it goes well." She lied, at least a little. She was worried about the meeting, but she certainly wasn't going to tell him she'd been sitting there thinking about him.

Bucky watched her a moment as she spoke, reached down to set her purse in the floorboard and fasten her seatbelt. He gave her a little half smile before turning the truck down the drive. He hesitated at the end of the drive just a moment, then reached over, covering the back of her hand gently and giving it a quick squeeze before returning it to the steering wheel and pulling out onto the highway.


End file.
